tihvavy  of  Che  'theoloo;ical  ^mimvy 

PRINCETON  •  NEW  JERSEY 


PRESENTED  BY 

The  Estate   of   the 
_Rey.   John  B.  Vfieclinper 

By   652.24    .B52    mT^ 
Black,   Samuel  Charles,    I869. 

.Building  a  working  church 


BUILDING  A  WORKING  CHURCH 


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BUILDING 
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BY 


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SAMUEL  CHARLES  BLACK,  D.D. 

Pastor  Collingwood  Avenue  Presbyterian  Church, Toledo,  Ohio;  Formerly 

Instructor  in  Hebrew,  University  of  Colorado; 

Author  of  Plain  Answers  to  Religious  Questions 

Modern  Men  Are  Asking,  etc. 


New  York 


Chicago 


Toronto 


Fleming    H,    Revell    Company 

London     and     Edinburgh 


Copyright,  191 1,  by 
FLEMING   H.  REVELL  COMPANY 


New  York:  158  Fifth  Avenue 
Chicago:  123  North  Wabash  Ave. 
Toronto:  25  Richmond  Street,  W. 
London:  21  Paternoster  Square 
Edinburgh:      100     Princes    Street 


AUTHOR'S  ANNOUNCEMENT. 

THIS  book  is  written  for  all  Builders  of  the 
Church,  whether  they  be  ministers  or  lay- 
men, whether  they  build  on  her  material  or 
her  spiritual  side.  Perfect  or  imperfect,  the  Church 
is  the  visible  body  of  Christ,  and  therefore  is  de- 
serving of  the  highest  consideration.  The  author 
is  convinced  that  strength  and  numbers  can  be  added 
to  the  Church  much  more  rapidly  than  they  have 
been  in  the  past,  and  that  it  is  the  supreme  duty  of 
Christians  now  living  to  make  these  additions. 

There  is  not  a  theory  in  the  book.  Experience 
has  been  gathered  from  country  and  city  missions, 
from  churches  in  villages,  towns  and  cities.  Only 
plans  that  have  proved  their  value  over  and  over 
again  are  included.  The  author  feels  safe  in  guar- 
anteeing results  when  the  work  suggested  is  en- 
thusiastically done. 

A  church  has  done  only  half  her  work  when  she 
has  maintained  herself.  As  a  man  keeps  himself 
in  health  that  he  may  do  his  life  work,  so  a  church 
should  maintain  herself  that  she  may  do  the  work 
committed  to  her  by  her  Lord.  Beginning  at  Je- 
rusalem the  whole  world  must  be  evangelized.    This 


aut|at'0  announcement 


is   the  work  of  the  Church;  the  church  that  fails 
here  fails  utterly. 

It  is  the  spirit  that  quickeneth.  On  every  page 
of  the  following  book  the  author  has  endeavored  to 
say  some  word  that  would  arouse  the  spirit  of  Chris- 
tian workers.  Method  and  plan  are  very  secondary 
when  the  soul  is  on  fire  with  zeal  for  God  and  love 
for  men.  When  the  spirit  is  active,  methods  will 
multiply  like  bubbles  on  batter  quickened  by  new 
leaven. 

Work  is  the  need  of  the  Church  to-day,  just 
plain,  hard,  continuous  red-blood  work.  We  know 
enough,  but  we  do  not  work  enough.  Never,  in  all 
the  history  of  the  race,  were  the  people  so  eager  to 
know  the  Truth,  never  were  they  so  responsive  to  a 
little  genuine  interest,  a  little  unselfish  service. 

It  is  the  contention  of  the  author  that  any  worthy 
church  that  wishes  to  grow  large  and  strong;  that 
wishes  to  take  the  place  our  common  Master  in- 
tended, may  do  so.  This  book  is  an  attempt  to  tell 
you  how. 

S.  C.  B. 

Toledo,  Ohio. 


CONTENTS 

I.     The  World's  Need,  The  Churches  Opportunity.      11 

WINNING  THE  LOCAL  COMMUNITY: 

II.  a.  Forces  in  the  Conflict      ....  25 

III.  b.  The  Pastor's  Part 38 

IV.  c.  The  People's  Part 53 

CONTRIBUTING  ELEMENTS: 
V.  a.  Missions  and  the  Missionary  Spirit  the 

Supreme  Dynamic 69 

VI.             b.  The  Spirit  of   EvangeHsm       ...  88 

Vn.             c.  Social  Life;  The  Spirit  of  Fellowship      .  107 

Vill.              d.  Music  in  the  Sanctuary  ....  117 

AUXILIARIES    AS    FIELDS    OF    LABOR 
AND  RECRUITING  STATIONS: 
IX.  a.  The   Sabbath   School       .        .        .        .131 

X.  b.  Men's  Clubs 145 

XI.  c.  Women's  Societies 157 

Xn.             d.  Young  People's   Societies       .        .        .169 
Xm.  e.  Outside  Missions 182 

HOW     FOUR     NOTABLE     CHARACTERS 
FOUND  THE  SAVIOUR: 
XIV.              a.  Peter;  Brought  by  His  Brother      .         .     195 
XV.             b.  Cornelius;  While  Listening  to  a  Sermon.     208 
XVT.              c.  Lydia;  While  Attending  a  Prayer-Meet- 
ing   219 

XVII.  d.  Saul  of  Tarsus;  By  the  Direct  Interven- 

tion of  Divine  Power     ....     234 

XVIII.     A  Working  Church  an  Effective  Projectile  .        .    249 


THE  WORLD'S  NEED,  THE  CHURCH'S  OPPOR- 
TUNITY. 


THE  outstanding  need  of  the  world  in  the 
twentieth  century,  the  need  whose  cry  goes 
up  like  the  wail  of  a  forsaken  infant  in  the 
night,  is  for  thousands  of  pastors  and  churches  of 
all  denominations  who,  forgetting  their  differences 
and  forsaking  ease,  will  go  forward  with  the  zeal 
of  the  spirit-filled  Apostles  and  win  the  careless, 
the  indifferent  and  the  openly  sinful  men  and  women 
of  our  day  to  an  atoning  Saviour  and  a  life  of 
righteousness.  The  fact  that  a  few  pastors  and 
churches  in  widely  separated  communities  are  doing 
this  thing  reveals  the  fact  that  it  might  be  done 
in  all  communities  if  the  same  consecration  and  ac- 
tivity were  present.  It  ought  to  be  seen  everywhere. 
It  ought  to  be  a  commonplace,  instead  of  the  strik- 
ing exception  it  is  to-day. 

A  swift  review  of  denominational  statistics  reveals 
the  lamentable  fact  that  there  were  scores  of 
churches  in  America,  having  pastors  and  from  one 
to  three  hundred  members,  that  did  not  win  one  soul 
from  sin  to  righteousness  in  the  last  twelve  long 
months;  and  this  not  in  shrinking  populations,  but 

11 


cfte  motive  Bttn 


in  thriving  cities  and  villages  where  there  are  twice 
as  many  non-Christians  as  Christians.  In  view  of 
the  quick  and  ready  response  of  the  human  heart 
to  the  gripping  power  of  the  Gospel  persuasively 
told,  how  can  such  pastors  and  churches  go  on  lay- 
ing the  blame  on  the  sinfulness  of  the  world  and 
praying  long,  wordy,  lifeless  prayers  that  God  will 
build  up  His  Kingdom  and  drive  out  Satan  with  its 
power? 

How  is  He  going  to  build  up  His  Kingdom  until 
the  dying,  ash-coated  embers  in  the  hearts  of  millions 
of  Christians  are  stirred  into  a  warming,  life-giving 
flame?  Until  those  now  claiming  to  be  His  shall 
arouse  themselves  from  lethargy,  stop  all  quarreling 
and  feud-fanning,  all  seeking  of  personal  glory  and 
advancement,  all  exploiting  of  the  Church  for  per- 
sonal gain,  either  financial  or  social,  and,  getting  a 
vision  of  a  redeemed  world  by  creeping  close  to  His 
great,  throbbing,  longing  heart,  and  looking  out 
through  His  loving  eyes,  go  forth  from  thence  and 
win,  one  by  one,  the  boys  and  girls,  the  youths  and 
the  maidens,  the  men  and  the  women  of  maturity, 
who  ought  to  be  His  and  who  will  be  His,  as  soon 
as  a  little  life-giving.  Christian  leaven  touches  them? 

It  will  be  entirely  apart  from  the  problem,  and 
will  only  delay  its  solution,  for  some  very  dignified 
and  self-righteous  Christians  to  sit  back  on  reading 
this  and  act  offended  and  declare  in  icy  tones  that 
they  are  not  guilty  of  the  charges  named.    Thank 

12 


Ctie  C!)urc&'0  ©ppottunftg 

God  if  you,  personally,  are  not,  but  the  fact  re- 
mains that  largely  because  of  these  very  sins,  thou- 
sands of  churches  are  at  a  standstill  and  thousands 
more  are  barely  maintaining  themselves,  or  are  going 
forward  at  a  snail's  pace.  The  moment  the  whole 
body  of  Christians  begins  to  live  right  and  work 
faithfully,  that  moment  will  our  churches  be  over- 
crowded with  new  members,  and  our  treasuries  over- 
flowing with  willing  offerings. 

Two  Common  and  Unpardonable  Mistakes, 

Upon  somewhat  extended  inquiry  over  a  wide 
territory,  it  is  revealed  that  many  churches  owe 
their  continued  barrenness  to  two  quite  unpardon- 
able mistakes:  The  first  of  these,  found  even  more 
commonly  than  the  second,  especially  in  the  smaller 
communities,  is  that  a  church,  whatever  its  size.  Is 
doing  very  well  if,  at  the  end  of  each  succeeding 
year,  it  shows  no  appreciable  loss  in  members  and 
can  close  the  period  with  all  bills  paid. 

How  is  the  world  to  be  saved  if  all  our  churches 
possess  only  such  negative  virtues?  Self-mainte- 
nance is  not  the  work  of  the  Church.  A  man  keeps 
himself  in  health  that  he  may  serve  the  world  and 
win  a  competence;  he  does  not  consider  himself  a 
success  if,  as  the  years  go  by,  he  simply  keeps  him- 
self alive.  The  church  that  just  maintains  itself 
is  a  failure  as  a  part  of  the  world-saving  force  of 
Jesus.     He  must  have  organizations  that  keep  them- 

13 


Cfie  caJotlO'is:  jBeeB 


selves  alive,  healthy  and  vigorous,  that  they  may 
bear  fruit  to  His  glory  and  the  saving  of  men. 

The  second  unpardonable  mistake  of  many  very 
good  people  is  to  feel  that  a  church  has  done  about 
all  it  can  when  it  has  won  to  a  bloodless  sort  of 
Christianity  from  one-fourth  to  one-third  of  the  pop- 
ulation of  its  community.  Some  years  ago  a  young 
and  enthusiastic  pastor  began  his  work  in  a  small 
church  located  in  the  heart  of  a  thriving  commercial 
city  of  some  fourteen  thousand  inhabitants.  He 
yearned  to  win  its  unsaved  men  and  women  to  his 
Master,  and  began  to  lay  his  plan  of  campaign  be- 
fore his  leading  officer.  The  venerable  man  listened 
with  respectful  indifference  to  the  young  en- 
thusiast's recital,  and  when  something  was  expected 
from  him,  said  languidly,  "My  young  brother,  I 
do  not  want  to  discourage  you,  but  when  you  begin 
to  work  you  will  soon  find,  as  other  pastors  have, 
that  this  pond  is  pretty  well  fished  out." 

The  young  man  decided  he  would  see  for  himself. 
He  superintended  a  religious  canvass  of  the  city, 
which  revealed  that  of  the  fourteen  thousand  in- 
habitants less  than  four  thousand  were  professing 
Christians,  and  over  four  hundred  of  the  remainder 
gave  as  their  preference  the  small  church  of  which 
he  was  pastor.  It  is  a  good  example  of  the  way 
most  other  ponds  are  fished  out.  A  small,  weak 
church  in  a  populous,  unsaved  community  presents 
the  pathetic  picture  of  a  man  starving  in  the  midst 

14 


^bt  Ct)urcft'0  Dpportunftp 

of  plenty  because  he  will  not  go  and  gather  the 
food. 

Another  thing  which  occasionally  reveals  this 
error  is  for  a  i-eal,  live,  spirit-filled  evangelist  to  visit 
the  community.  All  the  work  has  been  done,  mind 
you,  all  the  fruit  gathered!  As  the  man  of  God 
declares  his  message  in  words  that  pierce  the  thick 
coats  of  indifference,  and  the  hard  crusts  of  sin,  and 
revived,  warm-hearted  Christians  begin  to  do  per- 
sonal work,  sinning  men  and  women,  whom  the 
churches  have  long  classed  as  unsavable,  come  out 
from  their  old  lives  by  hundreds  and  thousands,  and 
the  churches  waken  up  to  say:  "We  have  had  an- 
other Pentecost."  Well,  yes,  but  the  same  forces 
would  have  produced  the  same  transformations  any 
time  in  the  past  fifty  years. 

When  this  thing  can  be  done  and  is  not  done, 
where  is  the  responsibility  to  rest?  Not  upon  the 
sinful  world.  No  good  work  can  be  expected  from 
it ;  but  surely  upon  those  men  and  women  who, 
blessed  with  a  knowledge  of  the  saving  power  of  the 
Gospel,  have  done  little  or  nothing  to  bring  the  un- 
saved in  their  communities  to  a  confession  of  the 
Saviour  that  will  yield  them  spiritual  birth  and  all 
the  joy  and  strength  of  Christian  righteousness. 

A  Consideration  of  the  Need, 

One  does  not  consider  the  sinful,  wretched  state 
of  society  because  it  is  a  pleasant  thing  to  do.     It 

16 


Ctie  motW^  il3eeD 


is  much  finer  to  consider  the  birds  and  the  flowers, 
the  sunlight  and  the  green  fields,  but  just  as  the 
victim  of  a  loathsome  ulcer,  refusing  to  acknowledge 
its  presence  and  seek  a  cure,  soon  dies  from  its 
ravages,  so  the  generation  that  shuts  its  eyes  to  the 
destructive  elements  at  work  in  its  members  and 
makes  no  effort  to  eliminate  them,  must  pay  the 
awful  price  of  its  sin. 

The  brave  man  is  not  he,  who,  hiding  his  head 
like  the  ostrich,  refuses  to  see,  but  is  one  who  looks 
carefully  and  with  wise  consideration,  and  if  he  sees 
hurtful  elements  at  work  in  his  own  life  or  in  the 
life  of  his  city  or  nation,  uses  the  knife  with  the 
firm  decision  of  the  fearless  surgeon,  letting  poisoned 
blood  if  necessary,  but  saving  the  better  part  of 
him  or  his  people  to  a  stronger,  more  honorable 
life. 

When  a  state  of  society  exists  which  breaks  up 
one  home  in  every  twelve  by  a  scandal  in  the  divorce 
court;  when  countless  more  are  ruined  by  murder 
or  other  tragedy,  growing  out  of  infidelity  on  the 
part  of  either  wife  or  husband,  when  indecency  in 
word  or  action  is  becoming  more  than  commonplace ; 
and  the  selling  of  virtue,  or  the  ruining  of  it,  is  be- 
coming more  and  more  a  matter  of  coarse  jest,  it 
would  seem  to  be  fully  time  for  the  Church  of  the 
Sinless  One  to  gird  herself  and  do  valiant  battle. 
When  the  gambling  instinct  is  fostered  and  encour- 
aged by  many  well-meaning  merchants,  and  by  some 

16 


Cfte  C!)utcj)'0  ©pportunitg 

great  and  powerful  religious  organizations;  when 
drinking,  card-playing  and  attendance  upon  low, 
passion-arousing  theatres  are  declared  to  be  entirely 
harmless  pleasures  in  which  the  young  and  inex- 
perienced have  every  right  to  engage ;  when  city  and 
national  governments  are  willing  to  license  the  most 
damning,  life-blighting  institution  the  world  has  ever 
seen,  for  the  return  of  a  few  blood-stained  dollars; 
it  would  seem  there  were  cause  enough  to  arouse 
to  action  any  man  or  woman  with  a  spark  of 
chivalry,  or  love  of  purity,  to  say  nothing  at  all  of 
the  Church  made  up  of  men  and  women  who  claim 
to  be  making  an  honest  effort  to  walk  in  the  foot- 
steps of  Him  who  hated  sin  with  His  whole  being 
and  did  everything  in  His  power  to  drive  it  from 
the  world. 

The  Blight  and  the  Blister  of  Sin. 

How  childlike  and  unworthy  it  is  for  the  Church 
to  refuse  to  see  the  awful  need  for  her  aggressive 
good  offices  in  modem  society!  The  growingly  com- 
mon saying  that  things  are  not  so  bad  as  reformers 
are  wont  to  paint  them  is  irrefutably  answered  by 
such  an  incident  as  occurred  only  a  few  days  ago 
in  a  western  city,  an  occurrence  that  is  matched  in 
some  city  of  our  nation  as  often  as  once  in  every 
twenty-four  hours.  A  young  couple  who  believed  in 
individual  license  married;  each  drank  a  little,  just 
a  little,  as  is  allowed  by  the  best  society!     In  due 

17 


Cfte  motWii  jfOeeD 


time  children  came,  then  trouble,  and  the  glass  of 
each  grew  larger.  More  trouble.  The  husband 
wandered  away  from  home;  the  wife  sought  other 
lovers;  the  husband  returned  and  sought  a  recon- 
ciliation, which  was  declined;  enraged,  he  filled  him- 
self with  liquor,  his  revolver  with  cartridges ;  sought 
his  wife,  shot  her  dead;  tried  to  kill  her  companion, 
and,  failing  in  this,  turned  the  weapon  on  himself, 
ending  his  own  wretched  life.  Mere  trifles,  of  course, 
not  to  be  noticed,  these  practices  called  moderate 
drinking,  low  theatre-going,  loose  social  customs; 
but  the  inevitable  fruitage,  however  unwillingly 
gathered,  forces  the  confession  that  the  ancient 
teacher  was  right  when  he  said:  "Whatsoever  a  man 
soweth  that  shall  he  also  reap,"  and,  "The  wages  of 
sin  is  death." 

A  young  girl  of  good  parentage,  rebelling  against 
the  restraints  of  Christian  parents  and  the  teaching 
of  the  Church,  accepted  the  company  of  a  flashy 
young  man,  of  low  morals,  and  no  character.  The 
pace  they  went  was  fierce,  and  for  a  few  weeks 
fascinating,  and  then  the  awful  truth  forced  itself 
upon  them  that  their  sin  would  soon  make  her  a 
mother.  At  this  tragic  stage  the  fine  young  man 
disappeared,  and  the  fair  girl,  unwilling  to  bear 
the  blight  of  coming  shame,  ended  her  life  with 
strychnine. 

A  splendid  young  man,  of  fine  physical  and  mental 
inheritance,  entered  a  great  university  to  complete 

18 


Cfte  Cburct)'0  ©pportunitg 

his  education.  Light-hearted,  he  made  friends 
among  a  fast  set  of  young  fellows  who  supplemented 
the  somewhat  slow  festivities  of  the  university  town 
with  an  occasional  visit  to  a  nearby  city  where,  un- 
observed, they  could  go  to  any  lengths  desired.  In- 
side of  sixty  days  he  was  going  with  them.  Visiting 
a  physician  at  the  end  of  his  first  year  for  treatment 
of  a  supposed  trifling  ailment,  it  was  revealed  that 
in  his  revels  he  had  contracted  disease  that  could 
never  be  cured;  that  would  more  and  more  weaken 
his  powers  and  ruin  his  life ;  that  precluded  a  happy 
home  and  family.  This  young  man  took  the  pistol 
route  to  oblivion. 

Barren  Souls  Equally  Pathetic, 

But  among  the  vast  company  of  wholly  respect- 
able, honest,  honorable  citizens  of  America  who 
have  never  confessed  the  Saviour  to  the  point  of 
spiritual  birth,  there  is  a  soul-barrenness  that  wrings 
the  heart  of  one  who  knows  what  they  might  be. 
Young  mechanics,  merchants  and  professional  men 
and  their  wives,  by  the  hundred  thousand,  who  see 
no  higher  than  the  counter  or  a  bread-winning  suc- 
cess ;  whose  eyes  have  never  opened  upon  visions  of 
a  world  redeemed,  in  part,  by  their  activity;  who 
have  not  yet  learned  that  "Man  cannot  live  by  bread 
alone,"  who  have  never  learned  the  beauty,  the 
power,  the  sustaining  strength  of  personal  contact 
with  the  One  Man  who  fully  overcame  the  world. 

19 


Cfte  motive  jOeeD 


A  visit  was  made  not  long  ago  to  the  home  of  a 
young  couple  of  the  upper  middle  class.  The  hus- 
band, a  rising  young  merchant  of  limited  education, 
the  wife  a  high  school  graduate  from  a  middle  west- 
ern village.  The  young  wife  held  her  first  baby  in 
her  arms,  treasuring  it  as  only  such  a  mother  can. 
"No,  they  never  attended  church.  The  husband 
was  so  tired  when  Saturday  night  came,  and  Sun- 
day they  slept  late  and  the  rest  of  the  day  enjoyed 
the  baby.  Read  books?  Well,  she  should  say  not! 
Neither  of  them  had  time  for  such  things.  About 
all  they  ever  did  do  for  amusement  was  to  spend 
one  evening  a  week  at  vaudeville  or  a  moving  pic- 
ture show.  No,  they  really  did  not  feel  a  need  for 
the  Church  or  any  religious  services,  and  they  had 
no  time  to  help  anybody  else ;  they  preferred  to  re- 
main just  as  they  were!" 

Shall  the  Church  Try  Harder? 

This  then  is  the  situation  in  the  average  American 
town  and  city:  from  one- fourth  to  one- third  of  the 
people  Christian;  amongst  the  remainder  sin  is 
rampant  or  indifference  blighting.  Can  pastors  and 
churches  remain  quiet  and  inactive  when  this  con- 
dition exists?  Can  they  feel  that  "doing  pretty 
well"  will  satisfy  the  Master  who  commissioned  us 
to  win  the  whole  world?  "The  people  that  do  know 
their  God  shall  be  strong  and  do  exploits,"  says  the 
Prophet  Daniel.      (Dan.  xi:  32.)      An  exploit  is  a 


Cfte  Cl)utcj)'0  Dppottunftp 

rare  or  unusual  service;  something  out  of  the  ordi- 
nary, something  better  than  "doing  pretty  well." 
Have  we  not  reached  the  time  when  exploits  are  in 
order?  When  unusual  successes  in  soul-winning 
should  not  create  so  much  comment?  When  for  a 
church  in  a  populous,  unsaved  community  to  do  less 
than  double  its  membership  every  two  or  three  years 
should  be  looked  upon  as  something  of  a  disgrace? 

Shall  the  Church  Broaden  Her  Scope? 

The  Church  is  allowing  other  institutions  to  do 
much  of  the  work  it  is  her  business  to  do.  Confess- 
ing that  her  first  work  must  ever  be  spiritual,  let 
us  not  forget  that  in  His  gripping  parable  Christ 
pictured  the  Great  Judge  casting  away  into  outer 
darkness  those  who  had  not  visited  the  sick,  min- 
istered to  the  needy,  extended  the  cup  of  cold  water 
in  His  name.  Let  the  Church  speak  no  word  against 
social  organizations  that  are  ministering  to  human 
need,  to  which  she  has  been  indifferent.  She  should 
be  the  leader  in  relief,  in  reform,  in  fostering  every 
worthy,  uplifting  enterprise.  Just  as  the  work  of 
the  physician  and  the  hospital  in  foreign  mission 
fields  opens  thousands  of  hearts  to  the  Gospel,  so 
the  Church  at  home  will  find  that  she  will  twine 
spiritual  arms  around  lost  souls  when  she  ministers 
to  the  betterment  of  the  bodies  those  souls  inhabit. 

The  Glory  of  a  World  Redeemed, 

If  the  need  of  the  work  does  not  prod  us  to  action, 
21 


Cfie  morID'0  il3eeli 


perhaps  a  picture  of  the  world  redeemed  and  puri- 
fied will  draw  us  to  it.  Fancy  picking  up  a  news- 
paper containing  no  hint  of  assault,  or  murder,  or 
other  human  wrong !  No  police  court  news,  for  such 
courts  have  died  for  want  of  business ;  no  accounts 
of  prize  fights,  for  men  have  risen  above  the  beasts 
and  taken  the  place  in  God's  universe  He  planned 
for  them;  no  awful  railroad  wrecks  caused  directly 
or  indirectly  by  the  greed  and  heartlessness  of 
money  kings ;  no  accounts  of  broken  homes  or  mari- 
tal infidelity,  for  men  and  women  are  living  pure  as 
their  newly  chosen  Master;  no  injustice  on  the  part 
of  employer,  no  destruction  of  property  on  the  part 
of  the  employed;  churches  and  schools  overcrowded, 
and  no  man  asking  his  brother,  "Knowest  thou  the 
Lord?"  for  all  men  know  Him,  from  the  least  even 
to  the  greatest! 

O,  yes,  it  is  possible,  and  what  is  more,  it  ic  com- 
ing, and,  many  of  us  believe,  not  so  very  far  away. 
God  does  not  begin  a  good  work  to  soon  abandon 
it.  Just  as  sure  as  He  began  winning  this  willful, 
disobedient,  sinning  race  back  to  Himself,  He  is 
going  to  keep  up  the  work  till  His  family  is  com- 
plete. Will  you  be  indifferent  and  compel  others  to 
drag  along  your  dead  weight?  Or  will  you  plunge 
into  the  conflict  like  a  war-for-liberty  hero,  and  never 
sheath  your  sword  so  long  as  the  world  holds  a 
wrong  or  an  unsaved  soul?  When  we  have  a  million 
such  soldiers  the  conflict  will  soon  end  in  victory. 


WINNING  THE  LOCAL  COMMUNITY. 


n. 

FORCES  IN   THE  CONFLICT. 

THE  warfare  in  which  the  Christian  Church  is 
engaged  differs  from  all  other  in  this,  that 
while  the  weapons  and  animating  spirit  of 
her  adversaries  must  be  destroyed,  the  adversaries 
themselves  must  not  only  be  spared,  but  they  must 
be  benefited  and  then  won  as  friends,  and  finally 
as  soldiers  in  the  very  cause  they  once  withstood. 
How  different  this  is  from  ordinary  warfare,  even 
from  the  warfare  of  the  ancient  Jewish  Theocracy, 
may  be  reckoned  from  the  command  given  to  Saul 
concerning  the  Amelekites  (I  Samuel  xv:  3)  :  "Now 
go  and  smite  Amelek  and  utterly  destroy  all  that 
they  have,  and  spare  them  not,  but  slay  both  man 
and  woman,  infant  and  suckling,  ox  and  sheep,  camel 
and  ass."  Witness  also  the  many  times  the  enemies 
of  Jerusalem,  not  content  with  killing  or  taking 
captive  all  the  inhabitants,  went  so  far  in  their  re- 
lentless wrath  as  to  destroy  every  structure  in  the 
conquered  city,  plow  its  area  as  a  field  and  sow  it 
with  salt  to  signify  its  utter  annihilation.  To  van- 
quish an  opposing  army  and  yet  win  its  members 
as  friends  and  supporters  of  the  once  opposed  cause, 

25 


minnins  tfie  Local  Communftp 

requires  a  magnanimity  and  tact  characteristic  of 
the  Saviour  himself.  It  is  by  no  means  universal  in 
the  Church,  and  just  as  an  army  preparing  for 
sanguinary  warfare  must  spend  weeks,  and,  if  pos- 
sible, months  in  preparation,  so  the  individual  mem- 
bers of  the  Church  might  well  take  time  to  cultivate 
the  graces  of  their  Master  without  which  they  will 
be  poor  soldiers  indeed. 

These  enemies  are  not  to  be  wounded ;  on  the  con- 
trary, the  wounds  they  have  already  received  while 
living  in  sin  are  to  be  mollified  with  the  oil  and  wine 
of  God's  consolation.  If  the  Christian  soldier  ruth- 
lessly tears  open  the  old  wounds  or  heartlessly  in- 
flicts new  ones,  how  can  he  expect  to  win  the  ene- 
mies of  the  Lord  to  the  Christ-like  life  that  is  the 
essence  of  true  Christianity?  A  few  months  ago  a 
dozen  of  the  inmates  of  the  Girls'  School  of  Correc- 
tion, a  State  Institution  at  Mitchellville,  Iowa,  re- 
belled against  the  authorities  in  charge,  incited  the 
other  girls  to  riot,  and  caused  such  disturbance  that 
they  were  removed  to  the  Polk  County  jail  in  Des 
Moines.  Wide  investigation  was  instigated  to  dis- 
cover what  had  led  this  group  of  girls  to  so  rebel. 
It  was  proved  that  they  had  been  well  housed,  well 
clothed,  and  well  fed.  When  efforts  to  discover  the 
cause  seemed  about  to  fail  one  state  officer  resigned 
from  the  Board  of  Control,  and  with  his  resignation 
published  a  long  statement  in  which  he  revealed  that 
certain  helpers  at  the  institution  were  in  the  habit 

26 


jFotces!  in  tfte  Conflict 


of  throwing  into  the  faces  of  the  girls  their  old  mis- 
takes and  failures,  the  misdemeanors  that  had  sent 
them  to  the  House  of  Correction,  sins  they  had  long 
since  repented  of  and  wished  to  forget.  It  was  like 
throwing  powder  into  a  flame.  It  exploded  the  old 
nature,  making  them  worse  than  before. 

The  incident  holds  a  lesson  for  the  Church.  We 
will  not  succeed  by  continually  pointing  to  the  past 
sins  of  those  we  wish  to  win,  but  by  holding  up 
ideals  for  the  future  and  helping  them  blot  out  and 
forget  the  past,  by  showing  them  by  example  and 
by  precept  the  thing  they  may  become,  the  life 
they  may  live,  with  the  help  of  God.  We  are  to 
be  wiser  than  the  wisest  serpent ;  more  harmless  than 
the  most  harmless  dove,  and  so  determined  to  win 
and  not  wound  that  our  Master  will  delight  in  us 
as  we  gather  in  His  lost  ones,  till  not  a  single 
prodigal  remains  away  from  the  Father's  house. 

Considering  the  Opposition. 

Our  Master  taught  that  when  about  to  launch 
an  enterprise,  the  wise  man  always  sat  down  first 
and  counted  the  cost.  If  about  to  build  a  house, 
did  he  have  money  enough  to  finish  it?  If  to  begin 
a  war,  could  he  with  one  thousand  soldiers  success- 
fully contend  with  an  adversary  who  had  ten  thou- 
sand.'* In  capturing  the  world  for  Christ,  or  the 
nation,  or  our  own  community,  for  conditions  are 
much  the  same  wherever  man  is  found,  what  is  the 

^7 


mimins  m  Local  Communrtg 

strength  of  the  enemy?     What  the  possibilities   of 
victory? 

Looking  the  whole  field  over;  considering  city, 
village  and  rural  community,  one  reaches  the  con- 
clusion that  in  America  the  opposition  outnumbers 
fully  two  to  one  the  forces  of  the  Church,  and  that 
they  may  be  divided  into  three  quite  well  defined 
groups.  First,  the  openly  bad.  This  group  is  sur- 
prisingly small  by  comparison.  Not  many  men  and 
women  in  any  community  are  so  far  down  in  the 
scale  of  human  conduct  as  to  openly  break  the  laws 
of  God  and  man.  Most  of  them  are  in  the  toils  of 
the  law  much  of  the  time.  A  hard  class  to  reach; 
harder  to  influence  for  good,  though  not  so  much 
so  as  is  generally  supposed.  Mrs.  Maud  Ballington 
Booth,  and  other  workers  in  the  Salvation  Army, 
have  won  thousands  of  this  class  during  the  period 
of  their  incarceration  for  crime,  and  thousands  more 
have  been  won  by  plain  spoken  evangelists  and  mis- 
sion workers  who  have  forced  them  to  think  of 
sacred  things. 

Institutions  That  are  Worse  Tha/n  Men, 

Perhaps  a  more  hurtful  element  in  the  opposition 
than  the  lives  of  these  openly  sinful  men  and  women 
are  the  institutions  they  create  and  foster;  the  sa- 
loon, the  gambling  hell,  the  low,  passion-breeding 
theatre.  Hurtful  to  all  men,  they  are  rank  poison 
to    adolescent    youth.      Of    course    they    could    be 

28 


jFotce0  in  tfte  Conflict 


quickly  exterminated  if  the  forces  of  the  Church 
would  act  unitedly  against  them,  but  since  they 
bring  a  little  revenue  to  owners  of  ramshackle  build- 
ings, pay  high  taxes,  even  though  those  taxes  are 
more  than  eaten  up  by  the  extra  court  and  police 
costs  the  institutions  bring  upon  the  State,  they  are 
supported  by  many  good  people  whose  attitude 
toward  them  is  incomprehensible  from  the  standpoint 
of  the  Christ.  He  made  no  compromise  with  sin. 
He  would  scorn  the  blood-money  such  institutions 
produce.  The  human  mind  cannot  conceive  of  this 
sinless  One  accepting  any  kind  of  return  from  an 
institution  that  did  its  utmost  to  weaken  and  rob 
other  men,  that  taught  young  manhood  that  it  is 
all  right  to  beat  your  fellowmen  out  of  their  hard- 
earned  dollars  if  you  are  sharp  enough  to  do  it  and 
escape  the  penitentiary,  or  that  eternally  flaunted 
in  the  faces  of  growing  boys  and  girls,  lewd  theatre 
posters  and  pictures  of  prize  fights  that  reveal  hu- 
manity at  its  lowest  depths.  From  these  tangible 
things  there  issues  an  intangible  influence  it  is  hard 
indeed  to  overcome.  Just  as  you  must  bury  the 
carcass  of  a  dead  beast  to  escape  the  decaying  odors, 
so  these  institutions  must  be  killed  and  buried  out 
of  sight  before  the  hurtful  influence  arising  from 
them  can  be  stopped. 

The  second  group  is  slightly  larger.  It  is  com- 
posed of  men  and  women  who  in  the  main  live  moral 
and   honorable   lives,   but   who,    through   erroneous 

^9 


minnim  tht  Local  Communitp 

teaching  or  misunderstanding,  look  upon  modern 
Christianity  with  distrust,  or  as  a  force  to  be  op- 
posed. Among  them  will  be  found  many  who  will 
hail  Christ,  but  hiss  the  Church;  who  declare  faith 
in  Him,  but  do  not  follow  Him  and  who  refuse  to 
fellowship  with  those  making  an  heroic  effort  to 
do  so,  on  the  assertion  that  the  effort  is  not  honest. 
iThe  third  group  comprises  the  vast  majority  of 
those  not  yet  in  the  Kingdom.  It  is  composed 
chiefly  of  men  and  women  who  know  little,  often- 
times nothing,  about  Christianity,  and  who  will  not 
take  the  trouble  to  inquire;  those  who  give  most  of 
their  time  and  strength  to  making  a  living  and 
seeking  personal  pleasure  and  who  do  not  give 
Christianity  much  thought.  As  nearly  as  possible 
they  are  neither  for  it  nor  against  it.  They  have 
never  been  forced  to  think  the  subject  through  and 
reach  a  conclusion.  Most  of  them,  when  approached 
by  a  wise  worker,  will  say :  "Yes,  I  know  I  ought  to 
be  a  Christian,  it  is  the  right  thing  to  do,  and  some- 
time I  intend  to  take  the  step."  And  here  is  the 
vital  element  in  it  all:  Most  of  these  people  are  won 
hy  the  first  tactful^  persistent  effort  to  win  them 
that  is  put  forth,  a  thing  which  multiplies  the  re- 
sponsibility of  the  Church  and  condemns  every  one  of 
us  for  past  inactivity. 

The  Accessibility  of  Our  Foe, 

Strange  as  the  idea  may  seem  at  first,  the  Church 
30 


Jfotce^  in  tfte  Conflict 


is  to  be  congratulated  on  the  fact  that  the  forces 
against  which  she  must  contend  are  so  readily  ac- 
cessible. The  traveler  through  Galilee  is  shown  great 
caves  in  the  face  of  a  cliff  where  a  band  of  robbers 
entrenched  themselves  when  the  government  was  try- 
ing to  rid  the  country  of  them.  So  inaccessible  were 
the  caves,  the  only  avenue  of  approach  being  open 
to  the  death  missiles  of  the  bandits,  that  for  months 
they  remained  unmolested.  At  last,  however,  law 
and  order  prevailed.  Great  cages  full  of  fighting 
men  were  let  down  the  face  of  the  cliff  from  above. 
With  superior  weapons  and  courage  they  soon  over- 
powered the  outlaws  and  destroyed  them. 

No  such  ingenuity  is  demanded  from  the  Church. 
Those  we  wish  to  capture  are  all  around  us.  Some 
of  them  beloved  children  in  our  homes ;  some  of  them 
our  closest  friends,  to  whom  for  some  strange  rea- 
son we  have  been  afraid  to  speak;  some  of  them  are 
our  business  associates  with  whom  we  rub  elbows 
every  day;  some  our  closest  neighbors  with  whom 
we  talk  freely  on  every  other  subject  under  heaven. 
We  may  need  ingenuity  of  approach,  but  the  thing 
we  need  most  is  courage.  Courage  to  do  the  thing 
nine-tenths  of  our  friends  would  gladly  welcome  and 
quickly  respond  to !  When  the  courage  of  the 
Church  is  "screwed  up  to  the  sticking  point"  the 
race  will  be  quickly  won  to  Jesus. 


31 


Winning  tbt  Hotal  Communitp 

The  Forces  of  the  Church  Considered. 

Many  very  good  Christians  are  so  occupied  wor- 
rying about  the  power  of  the  opposition  that  they 
never  think  of  the  power,  or  the  lack  of  it,  of  the 
attacking  force.  It  is  entirely  possible,  if  we  would 
strengthen  the  weak  places  in  our  own  forces,  the 
power  of  the  opposition  would  be  insignificant  by 
comparison.  The  attacking  force  falls  also  into 
three  groups  which  it  will  be  our  duty  to  consider. 

First  stands  the  small  company  of  valiant  ones ; 
spirit-jSUed,  aggressive,  alert;  on  the  spring  like  an 
athlete  on  his  marks.  They  are  the  workers  of  the 
hive,  never  still,  never  too  tired  nor  too  busy  to  say 
a  word  for  Christ  when  an  opportunity  opens.  They 
are  the  steady  fruit-gatherers  of  the  Kingdom. 
Without  them  the  harvest  would  be  small  indeed. 
Without  them  the  most  faithful  pastor  would  lose 
heart.  Oh!  but  they  are  few!  Shamefully  few, 
when  they  should  be  commensurate  with  the  mem- 
bership of  the  Church.  In  most  communities  they 
can  be  counted  on  the  fingers  of  one  hand. 

Next  to  them  stands  the  much  larger  company 
who  work  to  win  souls  to  Christ  when  they  them- 
selves are  temporarily  stimulated  by  special  services, 
or  some  outstanding  spiritual  experience.  When  so 
aroused  they  do  good  work,  oftentimes  remarkably 
good  work.  What  they  do  when  so  aroused  shows 
what  they  should  do  all  the  time.     It  is  difficult  to 

S2 


4force0  in  tfte  Conflict 


understand  how  they  quiet  their  conscience  during 
the  idle  times. 

Here  again  the  third  class  is  the  large  one;  hun- 
dreds of  thousands  more  here  than  in  both  the  other 
classes  put  together;  the  vast  company  of  profess- 
ing Christians  who  never  do  a  stroke  of  face-to-face 
work  for  Him.  Many  are  not  yet  sufficiently 
aroused  to  the  need  of  it ;  many  say  they  can't ;  while 
a  very  large  company  confess,  when  pressed  to  the 
point,  that  the  lives  they  are  living  are  not  suf- 
ficiently Christ-like  to  warrant  them  in  trying  to 
move  others  to  begin  it.  Consider  an  army  whose 
generals  were  zealous  enough,  whose  under  officers 
were  good  fighters  when  stimulated,  but  whose  rank 
and  file  were  indifferent  or  inactive;  not  worthy  to 
fight  for  the  cause  they  were  depending  on  to  save 
them !  It  would  be  a  very  fair  picture  of  the  modem 
Church,  so  far  as  proportion  of  workers  to  non- 
workers  is  concerned.  How  many  victories  would 
you  expect  such  an  army  to  win.? 

To  capture  any  community  for  Christ  it  will  be 
necessary  that  the  whole  Christian  force  be  stimu- 
lated to  the  point  of  action  and  kept  stimulated 
until  all  are  won.  We  have  force  enough  to  do  the 
work;  the  lives  to  be  won  are  entirely  accessible; 
experience  proves  that  they  are  readily  responsive 
to  the  warm  heart-call  of  Christian  love.  Have  we 
the  love,  and  will  we  sound  the  call?  Blame  not  the 
unsaved  when   so   much   fault   rests   with   ourselves. 


minnim  tfte  Local  Communitp 

When   the   Church  gets   right,   the   community   will 
be  saved. 

The  Weapons  of  Christian  Warfare. 

While  the  lives  of  the  men  and  women  in  the 
forces  the  Church  must  meet  are  to  be  saved  and 
strengthened,  the  institutions  they  have  created  and 
fostered  must  be  utterly  exterminated.  There  is 
absolutely  no  place  for  them  in  a  redeemed  society. 
The  main  weapon  with  which  the  Church  must  ac- 
complish this  destruction  is  the  ballot.  We  are  a 
law-abiding  people  in  a  democracy  where  the  ma- 
jority rules.  Put  that  ballot  into  the  hands  of  all 
normal,  enlightened  citizens,  both  men  and  women, 
and  let  them  say  by  honestly  counted  vote  whether 
these  hurtful  institutions  shall  go  or  stay.  No  man 
or  woman  who  votes  to  keep  them  should  longer 
march  under  the  banner  of  Christ.  Let  them  go 
out  and  openly  join  the  forces  of  sin  they  are  sup- 
porting, and  not  hide,  like  hypocritical  murderers, 
under  the  folds  of  the  Church  while  secretly  they 
are  stabbing  her  to  death. 

How  little  and  how  slowly  the  Church  realizes 
the  power  that  is  in  her  hands !  With  her  own  vote 
solid  and  with  the  many  that  would  vote  with  her 
among  non-Christians  who  desire  to  see  purity  and 
righteousness  prevail,  she  would  have  a  majority, 
in  any  normal  community,  against  every  flagrant 
evil   that    exists.      Fancy    any    great    general   with 

34 


Jforce^  in  tbe  Conflict 


power  enough  in  his  hands  to  destroy  an  enemy's 
fortifications,  weakly  submitting  to  their  existence 
and  even  contributing  no  little  amount  to  their 
strength!  Truly  the  children  of  the  world  are  wiser 
in  their  generation  than  the  children  of  light. 

Two  other  powerful  weapons  remain  with  which 
the  Church  must  accomplish  her  warfare,  and  the 
first  of  these  is  enlightenment.  The  sinfulness  of  the 
world  arises  largely  from  the  ignorance  among  the 
masses  that  better  things  are  possible.  The  cry 
which  escaped  the  lips  of  a  youth  when  asked  by 
an  honest  physician  why  he  had  sinned  incur- 
ably against  nature  is  typical:  "Oh,  my  God!  I  did 
not  know."  Millions  of  our  fellow  citizens,  born 
under  the  curse  of  sin,  have  never  seen  the  Light. 
To  them  the  Sun  of  Righteousness  does  not  shine. 
Many,  knowing  that  better  things  do  exist,  have 
no  knowledge  as  to  how  they  may  pass  from  their 
present  position  to  a  higher  one.  To  them  the  gulf 
seems  fixed.  It  is  a  closed  door  having  no  knob  on 
their  side. 

This  magnificent  weapon  called  enlightenment  it 
is  the  privilege  of  the  Church  to  use.  In  conjunc- 
tion with  one  other  to  be  mentioned  in  a  moment,  it 
will  prove  highly  effectual  in  solving  the  difficulty. 
Men  must  know  Christ  to  love  Him,  must  know  by 
observation  the  glories  of  the  Christ-life  before  they 
will  be  moved  to  strive  after  it.  To  this  end  the 
Church  must  enthusiastically  support  every  educa- 

35 


MJinning  tfte  Local  Communitp 

tional  force  that  is  Christian  in  its  trend,  and  must 
establish  more.  The  Sabbath  School  must  be  en- 
larged in  its  scope  and  purpose,  and  enriched  by 
more  of  the  lives  of  the  strongest,  most  Spirit-filled 
men  and  women  of  the  Church.  It  must  become 
more  and  more  recruiting  station  and  training 
ground.  The  Church  must  go  with  her  knowledge 
of  the  things  of  God  to  the  people  who  will  not  at- 
tend her  formal  services.  There  must  be  more  Hull 
House  and  Chicago  Commons  settlements ;  with  con- 
secrated lives  and  uplifting  pictures  and  stimulating 
music  and  clean  Christian  homes  and,  above  all,  the 
Gospel  Story  persuasively  told,  we  must,  if  neces- 
sary for  a  time,  force  a  knowledge  of  Christ  and 
better  ways  of  living  upon  those  who  do  not  know 
them.  No  darkness  can  stand  against  that  light. 
it  conquers  all  opposition  and,  while  doing  so,  fills 
the  lives  it  is  conquering  with  a  new  and  vital  joy. 
Let  the  Church  begin  anew  to  shed  this  Light. 
Wisely  used,  it  is  the  cure-all  for  ignorance-blighted, 
sin-cursed  lives. 

One  should  hasten  to  say,  however,  that  it  must 
never  be  used  alone.  The  bow  that  must  ever  shoot 
this  penetrating  arrow  is  the  bow  of  Love.  Sent 
forth  by  any  other  force  it  may  produce  a  fes- 
tering wound,  but  when  love  is  the  impelling  and 
attending  force  its  entrance  can  bring  only  better- 
ment to  a  life.  Ancient  tyrants,  who  had  no  love 
for    their    subjects,    but    wished    to    hold    them    as 

36 


4Force0  in  tfte  Conflict 


slaves,  denied  them  learning,  for  they  said,  "When 
these  people  know  that  anything  else  is  possible, 
they  will  rebel."  But  wiser,  less  selfish  monarchies 
said,  "Let  the  people  be  taught,  for  when  they 
know  our  laws  are  enacted  for  their  good,  they  will 
support  us  all  the  more."  When  the  Church  is 
prompted  by  love,  when  no  selfish  motive  or  hope 
of  return  is  apparent  in  her  reaching  after  the  un- 
saved, they  will  come  by  thousands  where  they  now 
come  by  tens,  and  the  Father's  house  will  be  filled. 
"Go  out  quickly  and  compel  them  to  come  in." 
But  men  can  be  forced  only  by  love.  Police  power 
irritates  them  and  makes  them  rebellious.  Love 
conquers  the  will  and  makes  them  want  to  come. 

These  weapons  then  the  Church  may  freely  use, 
the  ballot,  enlightenment,  love.  The  greatest  of 
these  is  the  last.  It  must  be  the  dynamo  that  drives 
all  else  or  the  Great  Purpose  will  never  be  accom- 
plished. Let  the  prayer  of  the  Church  be  from 
this  day  forth:  "Oh,  Master,  teach  us  how  to 
love, — all  men, — for  Thy  sake,  Amen." 


37 


THE   PASTOR'S   PART. 

THE  capturing  of  any  community  for  Christ, 
whether  its  population  be  large  or  small,  de- 
mands that  a  tremendous  amount  of  hard 
work  be  done.  Men  have  never  forced  their  way 
into  the  Kingdom  and  particularly  they  are  not  do- 
ing it  in  the  complex  and  absorbing  life  of  the 
twentieth  century.  Scores  of  forces  are  pulling  on 
every  life  and,  other  things  being  equal,  the  one 
that  pulls  the  hardest  and  most  persistently  gets  it. 
How  much  genuine  pull  on  men  has  your  life,  your 
church?  Will  the  centripetal  overcome  the  centrif- 
ugal? In  the  go  and  come  of  modern  social  move- 
ments in  your  vicinity,  will  the  balance  most  often 
be  in  favor  of  the  Church? 

Pastors  must  never  lose  sight  of  the  fact  that 
their  pull-work  must  be  done  so  skilfully  as  to  be 
well-nigh  imperceptible;  certainly  it  must  be  free 
from  the  slightest  objectionable  quality.  Our 
Master  won  men  chiefly  by  three  elements  of  power: 
Sheer  force  of  manhood,  keen  and  fresh  intellectu- 
ality, and  heart  power.  He  did  not  say,  "You 
must  come  after  me  or  be  eternally^  damned,"  but 

38 


Cfte  pa0tot'0  Jpatt 


rather,  "If  any  man  wills  to  come  after  me  let  him 
deny  himself  and  take  up  his  cross  daily  and  fol- 
low me."  To  be  permanent  and  effectual  the  com- 
ing must  be  a  free-will  act.  When  a  rubber  band 
is  stretched  beyond  its  normal  size,  it  snaps  back 
the  moment  the  compulsion  is  released. 

Equal  Efforts;  Different  Results, 

In  a  certain  steel  mill  in  the  middle  states  two 
good  men  were  wont  to  work.  One  was  the  local 
minister,  whose  zeal  far  outmeasured  his  tact.  He 
tried  to  force  the  employees  to  be  churchmen.  At 
the  noon  hour,  from  nail  keg  or  idle  bench,  he 
would  exhort  the  workmen  in  strident  tones.  "They 
must  change  their  manner  of  life.  They  must  at- 
tend his  church  services.  Death  and  hell  were  the 
only  portion  of  those  who  would  not."  The  men 
smoked  quietly  and  listened  with  respect,  but  they 
were  unmoved.  The  word  had  filtered  among  their 
number  that  the  minister  was  none  too  kind  to  his 
own  family,  that  he  did  not  pay  his  debts,  the 
feeling  grew  in  each  heart  that  his  efforts  in  their 
behalf  were  not  wholly  unselfish.  No  trout  will 
rise  to  a  fly  if  he  sees  a  hook!  So  when  it  was 
announced  that  he  would  preach  in  the  public  park 
on  Sunday  afternoon  the  men  sauntered  away  to 
the  woods. 

The  other  man  of  whom  I  speak  was  a  workman 
in  the  mill.     He  was  not  ordained  to  the  ministry, 


JSBfnttfng  tfte  Local  Communftp 

but  often  preached.  He  made  no  pretenses  to  ora- 
tory, but  his  simple  utterances  gripped  the  heart. 
He  had  no  word  of  rebuke  for  the  men,  but  ever 
held  before  them  high  ideals.  As  the  boys  came 
away  from  simple  suppers  in  his  humble  home  they 
told  their  friends  of  his  gentleness  to  his  children, 
and  the  perfection  of  his  unostentatious  discipline. 
The  word  went  round  that  here  was  a  man.  After 
a  number  had  found  the  Saviour  during  quiet  talks 
in  his  bare  den,  the  word  went  round  that  here 
was  a  Christian,  and  when  the  committee  in  charge 
invited  the  humble  workman  to  speak  at  the  park 
service  one  Sabbath  afternoon,  the  employees  of 
the  mill  were  there  by  hundreds,  while  more  fruit 
was  gathered  after  that  service  than  after  any  other 
during  the  summer  series.  The  feeling  is  growing 
among  those  who  watch  such  things  closely  that 
ministers  must  spend  more  time  cultivating  the 
graces  of  the  Master.  We  cannot  drive  men;  we 
must  win  them.  By  strength  of  character,  by  fresh 
outlook  and  utterance,  by  sympathy  and  unselfish 
service.     Men  so  won  stay  won  and  become  winners. 

Hard  Work  Wins  Here  as  Elsewhere, 

It  is  clear  that  the  failure  of  many  churches  to 
gather  new  members  is  due  to  the  fact  that  the 
work  is  not  pushed.  A  thousand  trifling  obstruc- 
tions arise  to  keep  well-meaning  men  and  women, 
who  as  yet  lack  the  zeal  of  God's  house,  from  tak- 

40 


Cfte  pa0tot'0  patt 


ing  the  final  step.  If  the  matter  is  not  pressed 
they  will  not  come.  It  is  common  for  many  very 
worthy  Church  officers  to  stiffen  their  back  just 
here  and  say,  "Well,  if  there  is  not  enough  to 
these  people  to  make  them  overcome  the  obstruc- 
tions and  come  any  way,  let  them  stay  out.  They 
will  not  be  much  help  to  the  Church  if  they  come !" 

Two  grievous  faults  here.  We  are  not  trying  to 
win  men  primarily  for  the  help  they  will  be  to 
the  Church,  but  to  save  their  souls ;  the  help  they 
render  the  Church  is  incidental;  and  then,  wide 
experience  has  proven  beyond  question  that  many 
who  come  into  the  Church  haltingly  and  reluctantly 
often  become  the  best  workers  the  Church  has  when 
they  become  permeated  with  her  rich  spirit. 

The  question  of  moving  a  church  building  to  more 
attractive  and  serviceable  quarters  was  once  under 
discussion  by  the  board  of  a  city  home  mission 
church.  One  dour  elder  strenuously  objected.  He 
conceded  the  building  was  not  well  located,  but  it 
could  be  found  and  "if  people  want  to  go  to  church, 
let  them  show  it  by  going  where  the  building  is." 
The  tactful  missionary  took  the  elder  on  his  own 
ground:  "That  is  exactly  the  point.  The  people 
do  not  want  to  go  to  church,  and  it  is  the  business 
of  the  present  membership  to  make  the  building  and 
the  service  so  attractive  they  will  want  to  go."  The 
elder  soon  saw  his  error  and  was  the  first  contrib- 
utor to  the  moving  fund. 

41 


minnine  tfte  JLocal  Community 

Nothing  but  the  most  aggressive,  persistent  work 
will  bring  the  people  in  anything  like  large  numbers, 
and  it  is  the  business  of  the  pastor  to  see  that  such 
work  is  done. 

Routine  as  a  Resource. 

Just  as  important  also  is  the  call  for  tactful  and 
systematic  endeavor.  It  is  the  "long  pull,  the 
strong  pull,  and  the  persistent  pull"  that  ultimately 
wins.  To  give  an  invitation  and  not  follow  it  up ; 
to  allow  one  rebuff  to  silence  you;  to  allow  a  slight 
difficulty  to  remain  in  the  way  of  one  you  wish  to 
win,  is  to  commit  sins  of  omission  of  which  the 
churches  should  not  be  guilt}^ 

All  too  often  the  spirit  of  a  Christian  worker 
burns  low;  physical  weariness  is  followed  by  the 
deadening  thought  of  "what's  the  use?  People  pre- 
fer to  stay  where  they  are,  and  the  most  strenuous 
efforts  seem  futile."  In  such  an  hour  but  one  thing 
will  save  a  man,  and  that  is  a  definite  system  which 
sends  him  to  his  task  whether  he  feels  like  going  or 
not.  Phillips  Brooks,  speaking  before  the  divinity 
students  at  Yale,  some  years  ago,  said:  "Routine 
is  a  terrible  master,  but  she  is  a  servant  whom  we 
can  hardly  do  without.  ...  A  strong,  wooden 
structure  running  through  your  work,  a  set  of  well- 
framed  and  well-jointed  habits  about  times  and  ways 
of  work,  writing,  studying,  intercourse  with  people, 
the   administration    of   charity  and   education,   and 


Cfie  pa0tot'0  part 


the  proportion  between  the  different  parts  of  cler- 
ical labor,  is  again  and  again  the  bridge  over  which 
the  minister  walks  when  the  solid  ground  of  higher 
motive  fails  him  for  a  time.  Routine  as  a  law  is 
deadly.  Routine  as  a  resource  in  the  temporary 
exhaustion  of  impulse  and  suggestions  is  often  our 
salvation." 

The  Loud  Call  for  Leadership, 

All  of  this  but  adds  to  the  volume  of  the  loud 
call  for  an  alert,  consecrated,  aggressive  leadership 
from  our  thousands  of  worthy  pastors.  The  pastor 
is  the  key  to  this  complex  lock.  Never  in  the  world's 
history  was  the  call  so  loud  and  persistent;  never 
was  the  pastor's  opportunity  so  great.  Newspaper 
assertions  that  the  ministry  is  decadent  are  but  the 
effusions  of  uninformed  minds.  The  man  who  takes 
his  ministry  seriously,  who  looks  upon  it  as  a  mag- 
nificent opportunity  to  serve  God  and  his  fellowmen, 
who  discovers  how  fruitful  an  intelligent  leadership 
is,  will  grapple  it  to  his  heart  with  hoops  of  steel. 

Let  us  at  once  deny  the  all  too  prevalent  idea 
that  a  minister  should  do  all,  or  practically  all,  of 
the  work  of  the  church.  Referring  to  the  sudden 
death  from  overwork  of  one  of  the  leading  New 
York  pastors,  a  minister  of  that  city  said  recently: 
"New  York  is  becoming  a  grave-yard  for  preachers. 
Within  two  years  five  of  the  pastors  of  her  leading 
churches  have  died  under  fifty  years  of  age.     For 

43 


wanning  tfte  Local  Community 

their  deaths  the  people  are  largely  responsible.  They 
say  in  substance  if  not  in  words :  *We  are  paying 
your  salary  and  providing  sufficient  funds ;  now  go 
on  and  do  the  work';  and  the  willing  pastors,  shoul- 
dering the  load,  soon  fall  under  its  awful  weight." 

Christian  people  must  remember  that  ministers  are 
flesh  and  blood  like  themselves,  that  they  grow  weary 
from  prolonged  overwork,  and  mental  strain;  that 
they  can  never  lock  up  the  shop  and  leave  it  to  take 
care  of  itself  while  they  recuperate,  but  whenever 
they  are  on  the  field  they  are  on  duty,  whether  it  be 
night  or  day. 

In  the  Master's  telling  figure  the  pastor  is  to  lead 
the  flock  and  feed  it.  That  congregation  wins  im- 
measurably that  allows  its  pastor  to  be  its  leader, 
that  stimulates  and  encourages  him  to  formulate 
working  plans,  and  then,  with  unlimited  enthusiasm 
and  consecration,  throws  itself  into  working  out 
those  plans  and  making  them  effectual. 

Strength  Against  Heart-Break. 

It  is  a  lamentable  necessity  in  the  twentieth  cen- 
tury that  pastors  shall  steel  themselves  against 
heart-break.  So  many  good  people  lack  the  thought- 
fulness  in  utterance  and  magnanimity  in  action  that 
will  save  their  pastors  aching  wounds  and  sleepless 
nights.  To  do  successful  work  in  the  Christian  min- 
istry men  must  have  sensitive  natures,  and  members 
might  well  take  more  care  to  turn  in  the  raw  edges 

44 


C6e  pa0tot'$  Ipatt 


of  their  remarks.  The  rasp  of  a  file  may  be  a  good 
thing  to  sharpen  a  hoe,  but  a  cutting  remark  never 
yet  made  a  minister  a  better  servant.  "Why  did 
the  former  minister  leave  this  field  .'^"  I  once  asked  a 
man  who  knew  concerning  a  prominent  Colorado  par- 
ish. "He  left,"  said  my  friend,  "because  certain  offi- 
cers of  the  church,  by  unwarranted  criticism  of  his 
methods,  broke  his  heart." 

It  has  happened  a  thousand  times  and  it  looks  as 
though  it  would  happen  a  thousand  times  more  be- 
fore people  come  to  their  senses.  When  your  min- 
ister shows  a  little  spirit  and  employs  effectual  and 
fruit-getting  methods,  even  though  they  may  differ 
slightly  from  past  custom,  in  heaven's  name,  don't 
stop  him ;  let  the  good  man  go  on,  and  help  him  in  his 
work.  To  call  him  to  do  your  work  and  then  stop 
him  when  he  starts  is  worse  than  the  act  of  a  child 
who  planted  a  shrub  one  day  and  pulled  it  up  by  the 
roots  the  next  to  see  if  it  was  growing.  The  Master 
said  nothing  about  method,  but  He  said  much  in 
favor  of  branches  that  bear  fruit  and  much  against 
those  that  do  not.  If  effectual  methods  employed  by 
your  pastor  are  not  contrary  to  the  scriptures,  mem- 
bers have  no  right  to  criticise  them,  to  say  nothing 
of  the  unwisdom  of  deadening  a  minister's  enthusi- 
asm. The  scriptures  abundantly  support  the  effectual 
man  who  said  fearlessly,  "I  am  become  all  things  to 
all  men  that  I  may  by  all  means  save  some." 


45 


minning  tfte  Local  Communftp 


What  the  Minister  Can  Do, 

That  the  above  is  not  said  to  excuse  the  minister 
for  weaknesses  or  mistake,  or  to  shield  him  from  just 
corrections  will  be  abundantly  evident  from  what  fol- 
lows. I  believe  the  minister  should  be  one  of  the 
hardest  workers  in  his  community.  I  have  no  apol- 
ogy for  the  minister  who  idles  away  precious  time 
under  any  figment  of  excuse  whatsoever.  A  minister 
is  entitled  to  one  day's  rest  in  seven  and  a  reasonable 
time  for  sleep,  but  no  more,  and  the  man  who  takes 
more,  unless  by  special  arrangement,  wrongs  the  con- 
gregation that  supports  him.  Some  very  good  men 
need  to  remember  that,  "Not  only  is  he  idle  who  does 
nothing,  but  he  is  also  idle  who  might  be  better  em- 
ployed"; that  a  man  may  be  idle  dawdling  over  a 
book  which  there  is  no  real  reason  for  reading  just 
as  surely  as  though  he  sat  and  twirled  his  thumbs ; 
that  idleness  begins  when  a  man  yields  less  than  his 
maximum  possible  production. 

The  man  who  would  build  up  his  church  and  make 
it  a  creating  force  must  throw  himself  into  his  work 
with  his  whole  heart;  must  give  up  once  and  forever 
the  thought  of  ease  and  what  was  once  called  "gen- 
tlemanly leisure." 

"We  are  not  here  to  play,   to  dream,  to  drift. 
We  have  hard  work  to  do  and  loads  to  lift." 

46 


^ite  pastot's  part 


Gentlemen,  if  we  want  our  people  to  give  them- 
selves to  us,  we  must  give  ourselves  to  them.  There 
must  be  no  holding  back  for  selfish  reasons,  no  divid- 
ing of  interest;  no  feeling  that  a  small,  comfortable 
effort  will  suffice ;  no  refusal  to  keep  on,  though  those 
with  whom  we  work  are  critical  or  even  worse  than 
ineffectual.  "The  world  wants  results ;  not  good  and 
sufficient  reasons  why  results  are  not  forthcoming." 
Well,  so  does  the  Master.  We  must  not  disap- 
point Him, 

Put  the  Sermon  First, 

And  first  of  all  the  effectual  pastor  must  make 
himself  a  strong,  virile,  heart-reaching  preacher  of 
the  word  of  God.  "It  has  pleased  God  by  the  foolish- 
ness of  preaching  to  save  them  that  believe."  The 
sermon  must  not  be  neglected ;  its  preparation  given 
only  the  rag-tags  of  a  week  of  turmoil.  How  close 
to  the  facts  Dr.  Stevenson  was  when,  during  the 
recent  McCormick  Seminary  celebration,  he  said: 
"Many  a  minister,  who  has  allowed  the  week  to  be 
filled  with  social  and  administrative  duties,  leaving 
scant  time  for  the  preparation  of  the  sermon,  pre- 
sents on  Sunday  morning  a  thing  of  shreds  and 
patches,  concerning  which  he  ought  to  say,  as  Fal- 
staff  did  when  introducing  his  rustic  bride,  "A  poor 
thing,  gentlemen,  but  mine  own !" 

The  effectual  minister  will  ever  be  a  prophet;  the 
man  who  declares  to  the  world;  "Thus  sayeth  the 

47 


minnim  tfie  Hocal  Community 

Lord."  Like  Knox,  he  must  never  fear  the  face  of 
man,  and  like  Savonarola,  he  must  declare  to  the 
people  that  the  sword  of  destruction  ever  hangs  above 
the  sinful.  According  to  divine  instruction,  he  must 
reprove  when  the  conduct  of  his  people  is  question- 
able; he  must  rebuke  when  it  is  scandalous,  and  he 
must  exhort  with  all  long  suffering  and  patience.  He 
must  in  meekness  instruct  those  that  oppose  them- 
selves in  the  hope  that  God  will  grant  them  time  to 
correct  their  errors  and  be  saved. 

The  preacher  must  be  the  mouthpiece  of  God ;  the 
pulpit  the  throne  from  which  the  King  speaks.  When 
either  fails,  the  people  perish.  Nothing  can  take  the 
place  of  the  true  prophet's  voice.  If  he  forsakes 
utterance  and  gives  himself  to  ritual  service  or  even 
sacrifice,  he  loses  his  power  and  sinks  to  a  mere 
priest,  becoming  nothing  but  a  cog  in  the  wheel  of 
ecclesiastical  procedure.  Therefore,  let  the  min- 
ister fail  elsewhere  if  he  must,  but  let  him  not  fail 
to  declare  unto  his  people  the  whole  counsel  of  God 
with  fearless  voice  and  all  the  eloquence  he  can  ac- 
quire. To  do  less  is  to  lose  the  gi-eatest  opportunity 
for  service  and  influence  God  ever  placed  in  men's 
hands.  It  is  to  be  weak  at  the  one  point  wherein  we 
must  be  strong.  To  do  less  is  to  fail  of  God's  ideal 
for  us ! 

Pastor  Must  Help  Preacher. 

Following  close  on  the  work  of  the  preacher  is  the 
48 


Cfte  Pa0tor'0  pact 


work  of  the  pastor,  the  shepherd  of  the  flock.  How 
many  good  men  are  to-day  drawing  back  from  this 
task  and  saying :  "If  I  am  to  give  the  time  necessary 
to  make  strong  sermons,  I  cannot  find  time  to  also  do 
pastoral  work."  Yes,  gentlemen,  we  can  and  we  must. 
No  man  can  do  brain  work  all  the  time.  I  know  many 
fine  fellows  who,  under  the  delusion  that  they  are 
getting  needed  knowledge,  read  themselves  into  in- 
sensibility and  when  they  begin  to  write,  their  pro- 
duction has  no  spring,  no  gripping  power.  If  there 
were  no  other  reason,  a  man  must  do  systematic  and 
extended  pastoral  work  to  be  able  to  declare  the  word 
of  God  with  heart-binding  power.  Let  it  be  said 
again,  "It  is  the  man  behind  the  message"  that  sends 
it  to  the  human  heart. 

A  preacher  must  know  the  heartaches  and  throbs 
of  humanity  by  meeting  his  people  in  the  intimate 
intercourse  of  their  own  homes  before  he  can  speak  a 
language  they  understand.  Few  men  ever  know  the 
value  of  personal  contact  as  did  the  lamented  Maltbie 
Babcock.  In  conversation,  by  letter,  by  telephone  or 
message,  he  kept  in  personal  touch  with  his  people. 
They  loved  him  like  a  father  and  hung  upon  his 
words  as  a  maiden  upon  the  words  of  her  betrothed. 

Furthermore,  pastoral  work  is  absolutely  necessary 
if  a  man  desires  to  win  new  members  in  any  large 
numbers.  It  is  while  in  the  homes  of  his  people  he 
learns  of  members  of  those  families  still  unsaved  or 
of  new  residents  who  may  be  reached.     Seventy-five 

49 


limning  tfte  Local  Communitp 

per  cent,  of  the  members  won  by  a  pastor  who  is 
building  up  his  congregation  at  the  rate  of  two  hun- 
dred a  year  are  discovered  while  making  pastoral 
calls.  Two  or  three  afternoons  a  week  will  work 
marvels,  and  every  man  needs  that  much  time  out 
of  his  study  to  keep  him  from  going  to  seed  or  becom- 
ing a  mere  spinner  of  impractical  theories. 

If  the  Church  of  which  he  is  pastor  publishes  a 
weekly  calendar,  let  the  minister  print,  the  Sunday 
before,  the  names  of  the  families  on  whom  he  will 
call  during  two  or  three  afternoons  of  the  week  fol- 
lowing. If  no  calendar  is  printed,  the  names  may 
be  announced  from  the  pulpit.  Some  such  para- 
graph as  this  may  precede  the  names :  "The  Pastor 
will  call  this  week  at  the  following  homes.  If  not 
convenient  to  receive  his  call  at  the  time  indicated, 
please  notify  him  as  early  as  possible.  While  but 
one  name  is  given,  let  it  be  understood  that  the  call 
is  upon  all  members  and  friends  of  the  church  who 
may  reside  in  the  home.  The  Pastor  will  appreciate 
it  if  parents  will  assist  him  in  meeting  their  children 
during  these  calls ;  he  will  also  be  glad  to  meet  neigh- 
bors or  new  residents  who  might  be  drawn  to  our 
church.  Let  us  co-operate  to  make  this  work  of  the 
Pastor  yield  the  largest  possible  returns  to  the  King- 
dom." For  safety,  a  marked  copy  of  the  calendar 
should  be  sent  to  each  family  by  the  first  mail 
Monday. 

The  advantages  of  this  method  are  more  numerous 
50 


Cfte  Pa0tot'0  Ipart 


than  can  be  named.  It  forces  the  pastor  to  do  his 
calling  when  the  time  announced  arrives.  (People 
are  glad  to  place  unexpected  services,  marriages  or 
funerals,  early  or  late  in  the  afternoon  to  enable 
their  eager  pastor  to  get  his  work  done.)  A  visit 
anticipated  for  several  days  is  always  appreciated 
more  than  an  unexpected  visit,  for  which  the  family 
may  not  be  ready.  A  pastor  finds  his  people  in  and 
is  not  compelled  to  repeat  the  effort  indefinitely. 
Members  of  the  family  who  would  otherwise  be  absent 
stay  at  home  for  the  pastor's  call.  Members  invite 
in  neighbors  and  new  residents,  and  many  new  mem- 
bers are  gathered.  The  plan  is  systematic,  sensible, 
sane.    Give  it  a  fair  trial. 

The  Force  that  Brings  Things  to  Pass, 

Even  these  two  realms  do  not  exhaust  the  pastor's 
part  in  the  modern  church.  In  addition  to  preaching 
and  doing  pastoral  work  exceptionally  well,  he  must 
be  an  efficient  executive  head  if  his  church  becomes 
a  producing  force.  Happy  the  man  who  has  some 
good  business  training  before  he  begins  his  ministry. 
He  must  have  a  knowledge  of  forces  and  how  to 
co-ordinate  them.  He  must  know  how  to  secure  the 
highest  efficiency  from  his  co-workers  from  the  least 
expenditure  of  time  and  energy;  above  all  he  must 
have  the  ability  to  remove  inefficient  officers  without 
off^ence,  retaining  their  friendship  and  support,  and 
must  know  how  to  develop  result-getting  men  to  fill 

61 


minning  tfte  Local  Communitp 

their  places.  He  must  be  able  to  give  the  strength 
of  his  personality  to  his  countless  auxiliaries  without 
too  heavy  a  draft  on  his  strength  and  time  and  he 
must  be  able  to  unite  the  various  factors  in  his 
church  in  such  a  way  as  to  make  them  a  single  force 
for  doing  the  vital  work  of  the  Church, — winning 
souls  to  Jesus  Christ. 

A  master  of  material  forces,  who  handles  men  and 
money  by  thousands,  is  of  the  opinion  that  the  crying 
need  of  the  ministry  to-day  is  virility  and  a  closer 
contact  with  the  forces  that  move  and  mould  society 
in  all  its  stratums.  Exactly  in  line  with  this  is  the 
cry  of  Phillips  Brooks,  greatest  but  one  of  all  Amer- 
ican preachers,  as  he  sums  up  a  lecture  on  The 
Preacher  in  His  Work:  "And  last  of  all,  be  vital; 
be  alive,  not  dead.  Do  everything  that  can  keep  your 
vitality  at  its  fullest.  Even  the  physical  vitality,  do 
not  dare  to  disregard.  Pray  for  and  work  for  fulness 
of  life  above  everything ;  full  red  blood  in  the  body ; 
full  honesty  and  truth  in  the  mind;  and  the  fulness 
of  a  grateful  love  for  the  Saviour  in  your  heart. 
Then,  however  men  may  set  their  mark  of  failure  or 
success  upon  your  ministry,  you  cannot  fail;  you 
must  succeed." 


52 


IV. 

THE   PEOPLE'S   PART. 

THE  largest  and  most  powerful  organization  in 
the  world  today  is  the  Christian  Church.  Stat- 
isticians tell  us  that  her  membership  is  over 
five  hundred  millions,  or  more  than  one-third  of  the 
population  of  the  globe.  They  tell  us  also  that  even 
this  does  not  even  hint  at  her  supremacy  and  power, 
for  the  Christian  nations  are  the  most  enlightened 
and  powerful  of  all,  and  that  Christian  men  and 
women  lead  all  others  in  those  nations.  Most  of  the 
wealth  of  the  world,  as  well  as  most  of  the  intelli- 
gence, is  in  the  possession  of  Christians.  Though 
their  actual  achievement  is  quickly  measured,  their 
possible  achievement  is  immeasurable. 

As  in  the  world  at  large,  so  in  the  normal  Ameri- 
can town  or  city,  the  Church  is  the  largest  and  most 
powerful  of  all  organizations.  Her  membership  al- 
ways includes  the  leaders  in  commerce  and  learning, 
in  patriotism  and  philanthropy.  But  the  same  pro- 
portion between  saved  and  unsaved  holds,  one-third 
against  two-thirds.    It  is  clear  also  that  the  ministers 

53 


minnins  tfte  Local  Communitp 

cannot  reverse  this  proportion  alone,  though  they 
strive  ever  so  hard.  It  is  a  two-fold  work.  What 
is  the  people's  part? 

The  modern  congregation  calls  to  its  head,  to  be 
God's  spokesman  and  their  leader  in  religious  affairs, 
the  minister  to  whom  the  Holy  Spirit  and  their  own 
wisdom  guides  them.  If  they  act  independent  of  or 
contrary  to  the  divine  influence,  so  much  the  worse 
for  both.  It  is  a  privilege  God  grants  a  people,  and 
of  which  they  that  are  wise  always  take  advantage, 
to  pray  and  work  constantly  to  increase  this  man's 
efficiency  and  power.  No  minister  worthy  the  title 
is  as  strong  as  he  ought  to  be  or  as  he  wants  to  be. 
While  here  and  there  may  be  found  a  rare  individual 
able  to  withstand  a  hurtful  influence  and  grow  sweet 
and  strong  in  spite  of  it,  no  man  can  withstand  help- 
ful influences  nor  escape  their  benefit.  A  congrega- 
tion can  make  or  mar  the  average  minister's  career, 
at  least  while  he  is  with  them,  just  as  a  wife  can 
help  or  hinder  her  husband.  To  help  him  in  every 
way  to  reach  the  point  of  highest  efficiency  is  not 
only  magnanimous  and  kind,  but  it  is  good  judg- 
ment. It  yields  large  returns.  It  is  a  paying  invest- 
ment. It  is  the  act  of  a  wise  husbandman  who  both 
fertilizes  his  field  and  allows  no  noxious  weeds  to 
draw  its  strength  from  the  growing  crops. 

Among  the  countless  things  a  congregation  can 
do  for  its  minister  to  increase  his  value  to  its  mem- 
bers, two  stand  pre-eminent.     The  first  is,  Increase 

54i 


Cfie  people'0  part 


his  efficiency  as  a  pastor.  What  a  man  is  while  out 
among  his  people  determines  very  largely  what  he 
can  do  with  and  for  those  people  when  he  rises  to 
speak  from  his  pulpit  on  the  Sabbath  day.  The 
words  of  a  preacher  whom  the  people  love  for 
kindly  and  thoughtful  pastoral  ministrations  are  al- 
ways eloquent  and  moving.  They  hear  his  heartbeat 
in  every  sentence  and  feel  the  warm  glow  of  his  sym- 
pathetic hand-shake. 

Even  a  cold  and  unresponsive  man  can  be  warmed 
and  enthused  by  a  genuine  and  persistent  hospitality. 
To  be  frequently  invited  to  a  simple  meal  with  the 
family,  which  neither  costs  the  hostess  too  much  to 
prepare  nor  the  minister  too  much  to  digest,  pro- 
vides that  intimate  acquaintance,  especially  with  the 
younger  members  of  a  family,  without  which  no  man 
can  serve  a  people  as  he  ought. 

But  this  is  only  one  phase  of  a  pastor's  work;  he 
must  be  informed  about  new  people  and  made  ac- 
quainted with  them,  about  cases  of  sickness  or  sorrow 
where  his  presence  would  be  appreciated.  A  pastor 
has  no  magic  way  of  knowing  these  things.  In  the 
multitude  of  his  duties  he  is  apt  not  to  know  them 
unless  some  watchful  member  of  his  congregation 
tells  him. 

A  member  of  a  Baptist  family  in  Chicago  once 
fell  sick.  He  grew  worse  and  worse  for  two  weeks 
and  died.  Though  they  had  not  notified  him  of  their 
trouble,  the  family  was  so  angry  because  their  pastor 

55 


minnim  tfte  Local  Communitp 

had  not  called  that  they  sent  to  a  neighboring  parish 
and  secured  a  man  whom  they  had  never  so  much 
as  seen  before  to  conduct  the  funeral  service.  Is  it 
any  wonder  the  ready  pastor  was  heart-broken  when 
he  learned  the  facts  ?  They  had  called  the  physician 
when  they  wanted  him,  and  neighbors,  and  members 
of  the  lodge,  but  not  one  word  to  the  pastor.  Thei/ 
said  he  ought  to  have  known!  How?  Why?  It  is 
time  enough  to  criticise  a  pastor  when  he  fails  to 
respond  to  such  cases  when  notified.  Not  one  pastor 
in  five  thousand  fails. 

The  son  of  a  widowed  mother  in  a  Western  State 
came  home  from  the  East,  and  after  a  short  illness, 
which  was  kept  very  quiet,  died.  He  was  not  a 
member  of  the  Church  and  had  never  shown  it  the 
slightest  attention.  Not  one  word  was  sent  to  the 
mother's  pastor,  either  by  the  family  or  close  neigh- 
bors in  the  same  congregation,  though  all  had  tele- 
phones and,  what  is  more,  frequently  met  him  in 
service  or  social  circle.  The  young  man  died  without 
a  word  with  any  minister.  The  mother  confessed  that 
the  fault  was  hers,  but  several  of  her  neighbors,  mem- 
bers of  the  same  congregation,  who  might  have  noti- 
fied the  pastor  any  moment  in  the  two  weeks,  but 
who  never  opened  their  lips,  were  so  angry  because 
he  had  not  called  that  they  would  not  treat  him  civ- 
illy. Such  treatment  is  very  apt  to  ruin  the  best 
pastor  that  ever  entered  a  field.  He  is  wont  to  say, 
"What's  the  use  trying?    People  are  so  unreasonable 

56 


Cfie  people'0  part 


and  demand  such  impossible  things.  They  won't  help 
and  yet  criticise  the  slightest  shortcoming.  I'll  just 
endure  the  thing  and  respond  when  I  am  called  until 
a  more  reasonable  field  opens." 

No  good  man  ever  reaches  such  an  attitude  until 
he  is  driven  to  it  by  the  unreasonableness  of  his 
people.  They  can  prevent  it  and  multiply  his  value 
to  the  parish  a  thousand  fold  if  they  will  co-operate 
with  him  with  notification  and  hospitality  and  not 
openly  criticise  him  for  failure  for  which  he  is  in  no 
way  responsible.  The  people  must  be  the  complement 
of  the  minister,  and  without  this  the  pastorate  will 
not  be  complete. 

The  second  way  a  people  can  benefit  a  minister 
is  by  making  him  a  better  preacher.  Just  now 
preachers  are  more  needed  by  our  congregations  than 
any  other  type  of  servant;  men  who  clearly  and 
forcefully  and  fearlessly  preach  the  word  of  God. 
We  sympathize  with  the  minister  who,  rising  to 
speak  in  a  church  but  one-fourth  filled,  said  it  was 
the  first  time  he  had  ever  been  called  upon  to  address 
a  lumber  yard.  (It  is  assumed  it  was  the  empty 
wooden  seats  he  referred  to  and  not  the  quality  of 
the  few  listeners  who  had  gathered.)  Nothing 
quickens  a  man's  brain  and  lends  eloquence  to  his 
tongue  like  a  crowd  of  eager  listeners.  One  minis- 
ter used  to  say  to  his  people  if  they  only  knew  how 
much  better  he  would  preach  if  they  crowded  the 
house  full,  they  would  come  from  a  purely  selfish 

5T 


jDainninff  tfte  Local  Communitp 

motive.  Help  your  minister  preach  by  being  pres- 
ent with  a  responsive  countenance  when  he  rises  to 
speak.  His  quickened  power  will  soon  be  noticed 
by  neighbors  and  visitors  and  the  attendance  prob- 
lem will  be  solved.  Being  an  ordinary  human  being, 
your  minister  will  be  vastly  stimulated  as  a  preacher 
if  you  freely  commend  him  for  good  work.  If  you 
really  do  not  enjoy  a  particular  sermon,  you  may 
still  render  him  a  benefit  by  using  the  nice  discrimi- 
nation of  a  tactful  woman  in  southern  Iowa  who 
used  to  tell  her  pastor  with  glowing  face  how  much 
she  had  enjoyed  the  service.  The  woman's  compli- 
ment did  much  to  make  her  minister  a  preacher,  for 
it  sent  him  to  his  books  and  study  each  week  with  a 
determination  to  merit  it. 

It  is  the  old  story  of  a  word  fitly  spoken.  The 
encouragement  of  his  people,  their  expressed  appre- 
ciation of  any  good  work  he  does,  an  occasional  indi- 
cation that  you  are  expecting  great  things  from  him, 
that  you  are  going  to  bring  your  friends  to  hear  his 
strong  sermons,  that  the  standard  of  his  last  sermon 
was  so  high  you  do  not  see  how  he  can  reach  it 
again;  all  such  words  when  honestly  and  sincerely 
spoken  will  bring  large  returns  to  any  people,  for 
they  make  your  minister  exert  himself  to  the  utmost 
to  be  a  great  preacher. 

A  Lesson  from  the  First  Century. 

When  a  church  wakens  to  the  fact  that  it  is  doing 
58 


Cfie  people'0  part 


small  things  for  God,  even  thougH  its  members  are 
doing  large  things  in  every  other  realm  in  which 
they  move;  when  it  observes  that  all  around  it  are 
men  and  women  unsaved  who  will  remain  so  unless  its 
members  draw  them  into  the  kingdom ;  when  the  con- 
sciousness dawns  upon  it  that  there  is  no  need  for 
it  to  be  small  and  weak  when  it  is  surrounded  by 
people  who  would  add  their  strength  as  soon  as  the 
claims  of  Christianity  were  brought  attractively  to 
their  attention,  it  may  well  go  back  to  Pentecost  and 
study  the  young  Church  that  day  and  the  days  which 
immediately  followed  it. 

There  was  an  activity  that  stirs  the  blood !  Every 
member  speaking  with  spirit-filled  words  to  every  life 
he  touched,  and  thousands  horn  into  the  kingdom  in 
a  single  day!  Without  reviewing  at  length  the  fa- 
miliar incident,  let  us  gather  a  few  of  its  leading 
messages  to  us. 

First,  it  was  the  Holy  Spirit  that  stimulated  them, 
quickened  their  old  powers  and  gave  them  new  ones. 
This  Divine  Influence  is  the  sine  qua  non  of  large 
fruit-bearing  in  Christian  service.  Lives  filled  with 
this  Imperial  Force  cannot  be  restrained  and  cannot 
be  withstood.  They  are  efficiency  personified.  Like 
Goethe  after  an  hour  with  Schiller,  they  think,  speak, 
act  with  tenfold  their  usual  power.  Like  a  heavenly 
cordial.  He  fires  every  fibre  of  their  being  and  renders 
them  invincible. 

Do  not  spend  your  days  lamenting  the  fact  that 
59 


minnins  tfte  JLocal  Communitp 

this  life-quickening  Force  has  not  been  given  to  you. 
Listen !  "If  ye  then,  being  evil,  know  how  to  give 
good  gifts  unto  your  children,  how  much  more  will 
your  heavenly  Father  give  the  Holy  Spirit  to  them 
that  ask  Him.''  You  can  have  this  stimulating  and 
power-multiplying  Force  in  your  own  life  if  you  want 
Him  badly  enough  to  ask  God  for  Him  and  respond 
to  His  prompting  when  He  comes.  For  the  Holy 
Spirit  is  a  person  as  God  and  Christ  are  and  He  acts 
upon  us  much  as  a  great  earthly  friend  does  who 
wishes  to  move  us  to  better  things.  He  strives  to 
put  His  spirit  into  us. 

A  young  student  of  American  letters  was  once 
thrown  for  a  week  into  intimate  companionship  with 
Lorado  Taft,  the  sculptor.  They  talked  on  subjects 
dearest  to  the  heart  of  each,  and  when  they  sepa- 
rated the  youth  returned  to  his  home  transformed. 
New  ambitions  had  seized  him.  His  imagination  had 
been  quickened,  while  his  mind  worked  with  a  rapid- 
ity and  fruitfulness  never  experienced  before. 

Any  Christian  who  will  spend  a  week  in  such  inti- 
mate intercourse  with  the  Holy  Spirit,  as  He  is  re- 
vealed in  the  Word  of  God,  will  find  himself  similarly 
quickened,  and  will  return  to  his  work  a  new  man. 
Call  it  by  what  name  you  will,  a  new  birth,  a  second 
blessing,  a  spiritual  quickening,  or  what  not,  but  be 
sure  you  have  it  and  that  you  respond  with  all  your 
life  to  its  kindling  presence. 

[The  second  lesson  for  us  from  Pentecost  is  that 
60 


Cfte  Ipeople'is;  J^att 


it  put  every  member  of  the  young  Church  to  work. 
That  of  itself  would  bring  on  a  Pentecostal  revival 
in  any  church  to-day.  It  might  be  working  back- 
wards, but,  backwards  or  forwards,  we  must  get  our 
work  done! 

There  is  nothing  so  powerful  in  all  the  world  as 
a  human  life,  nothing  so  appealing,  nothing  so  per- 
suasive. If  by  any  favor  of  heaven  we  could  get 
every  member  of  the  Church  of  the  Living  God  to 
work  daily  for  the  conversion  of  the  unsaved,  the 
race  would  be  brought  to  the  foot  of  the  cross  in  a 
decade.  Think  of  that,  Christians !  It  is  not  over- 
drawn. All  we  need  to-day  to  attain  what  we  pray 
for  is  that  every  member  shall  go  to  work. 

The  secret  of  the  building  of  the  Egyptian  Pyra- 
mids is  the  vast  number  of  men  who  worked  on  them. 
A  hundred  thousand  men  enthusiastically  working 
toward  a  single  project  can  do  such  deeds  as  shall 
startle  the  world.  The  moment  the  millions  now 
Christian  determine  to  work  ceaselessly  for  the  con- 
version of  the  world,  with  the  powers  they  have,  it 
will  he  accomplished. 

Nothing  could  strengthen  the  present  membership 
more  than  to  do  this  work.  We  say  to  weak  men, 
Begin  conscientiously  to  exercise  the  powers  you  have 
and  you  will  soon  get  strong.  Men  who  voluntarily 
take  on  great  physical  strain  like  an  inter-collegiate 
boat-race  or  foot-ball  game,  spend  months  before  in 
the  hardest  kind  of  work,  getting  the  whole  system 

61 


Winning  tfje  Local  Communftp 

strong.  Commander  Peary  says  that  he  had  so  in- 
ured his  body  to  the  rigors  of  Arctic  cold  that  during 
the  long  winter  on  The  Roosevelt  just  preceding  the 
final  dash  for  the  Pole,  he  did  not  build  a  fire  in  his 
cabin  stove,  though  the  thermometer  ranged  from 
zero  to  sixty  degrees  below,  while  the  wind  shrieked 
and  howled  through  the  rigging  like  a  multitude  of 
lost  souls. 

If  the  Church  of  Christ  wishes  to  be  strong  and 
hardy  let  her  go  to  work.  We  have  never  yet  taken 
hold  of  this  problem  of  saving  the  lost  as  we  must 
if  it  is  accomplished.  What  are  we  waiting  for? 
For  some  other  power  to  do  it  for  us.?  That  will 
never  occur.  The  plan  of  God  is  that  we  shall  do  it. 
Let  us  do  it  now!  It  will  rejoice  our  God,  it  will 
redeem  His  wandering  children;  it  will  strengthen 
ourselves  and  the  church;  it  will  reform  society,  it 
will  usher  in  the  millennium. 

We  should  not  overlook  the  fact  that  the  Pentecost- 
revived  church  began  at  once  to  work  on  everybody 
in  sight.  "Parthians  and  Medes,  and  Elamites,  and 
the  dwellers  in  Mesopotamia,  and  in  Judea,  and 
Cappadocia,  in  Pontus,  and  Asia,  Phrygia,  and  Pam- 
phylia,  in  Egypt,  and  in  the  parts  of  Libya  about 
Cyrene,  and  strangers  of  Rome,  Jews  and  prose- 
lytes, Cretes  and  Arabians,"  to  every  one  they  could 
reach  they  spoke  the  wonderful  works  of  God. 
(Acts,  2:1-11.) 

One  can  imagine  some  of  these  people  being  most 
62 


Cfie  PeopIe'i8!  Jpart 


unlikely  material  to  work  on.  Doubtless  some  had 
said  before:  "Well,  you  can  never  win  those  Par- 
thians  and  Medes.  Better  spend  all  your  time  and 
strength  on  the  residents  of  Judea  who  have  heard 
of  Christ's  mighty  works  and  who  are  not  so  far 
away."  So  the  Church  does  to-day  and  so  neglects 
those  who  need  Him  most  and  who  would  come  over 
to  Him  quickest  if  they  were  rightly  approached 
and  urged  to  come.  Oftentimes  in  revival  hours  the 
hearts  the  community  has  always  supposed  to  be 
most  hard,  melt  first,  and  melting,  become  the  fires 
that  warm  scores  of  kindred  hearts.  "God  will  have 
all  men  to  be  saved."  The  hardest  to  reach  as  well 
as  the  easiest — and  possibly  He  works  upon  the  hard- 
est hearts  most,  rendering  them  quickly  responsive. 
Any  unsaved  man,  woman,  child,  is  a  worthy  and 
legitimate  object  of  attack,  and  must  not  be 
neglected.  When  every  Christian  secures  his  gift  of 
the  Holy  Spirit  and  begins  to  work  on  the  unsaved 
life  nearest  him,  no  matter  how  unpromising,  the 
task  of  saving  the  world  will  be  half  done. 

Adjuncts  of  Great  Value. 

There  are  numberless  adjuncts  to  the  three  ele- 
ments above  enumerated;  contributing  forces  that 
vastly  aid  in  achieving  the  results  desired.  Most 
effective  as  a  dynamic  is  the  small  prayer  circle. 

"Prayer  is   the  soul's    sincere  desire, 
Unuttered    or    expressed." 


Ji^mning  tfie  Local  Communitp 

Prayer  takes  hold  on  God  and  claims  His  glorious 
promises.  It  was  Maltbie  Babcock  who  said  we  must 
do  our  work  on  the  pattern  of  the  try-square;  up 
the  perpendicular  toward  God  and  out  along  the 
horizontal  toward  men ;  that  not  until  we  had  gone 
up  could  we  go  out  effectually.  Prayer  gives  di- 
rectness to  purpose,  quickens  steps  and  unseals  lips. 
No  man  can  pray  for  another  long  without  doing 
other  things  to  win  him.  Times  without  number 
has  a  hard  man  been  touched  first  by  learning  that 
a  little  circle  of  earnest  men  were  praying  for  him. 
The  awe  and  sacredness  of  divine  things  seize  him, 
and  the  thought  of  being  carried  by  name  to  the 
throne  of  God  urges  him  to  strive  to  be  worthy  of 
it.  A  few  bands  of  men  and  women,  praying  regu- 
larly for  the  unsaved,  will  do  more  than  the  furnace 
to  keep  the  church  warm  and  hospitable.  The  glow 
of  it  will  soon  reach  every  life. 

There  may  well  be  also  a  number  of  personal  work- 
ers clubs  in  every  growing  church.  These  meet  fre- 
quently the  first  few  weeks  and  study  H.  Clay  Trum- 
bull's "Individual  Work  for  Individuals,"  or  Howard 
Agnew  Johnston's  "Studies  for  Personal  Workers." 
They  are  full  of  suggestion,  of  wise  and  workable 
plans.  Many  fruitless  lives  have  been  transformed 
by  them,  becoming  notable  winners  of  the  unsaved. 
Zeal  must  be  guided  by  knowledge;  willingness  may 
well  seek  to  profit  by  the  experience  of  others  who 
have  gone  before ;  lives  that  lack  inventiveness  may  be 


Cbe  people'0  part 


kindled  by  learning  what  others  have  done.  Such 
bands  will  make  up  a  list  of  lives  they  hope  to  win. 
As  one  after  another  surrenders  and  enters  the 
Church,  his  name  gives  place  to  yet  another.  The  list 
is  never  exhausted.  It  rather  grows  longer,  for  it  is 
a  fact  of  experience  that  when  such  a  practice  is 
started,  lives  appear  available  who  were  not  thought 
of  before.  It  will  finally  include  every  unsaved  life 
in  the  community. 

Much  use  has  been  made  of  late  of  Decision  Cards 
and  brief  leaflets  that  may  be  left  with  a  friend  or 
sent  with  a  kindly  note  of  invitation  through  the 
mail.  Such  printed  matter  should  be  easily  read, 
treating  only  essentials  in  terse  lines  or  scripture 
quotations.  Argument  is  not  needed  and  rarely  saves 
a  soul.  Men  know  their  duty  to  God  and  what  they 
ought  to  do.  An  arrow  of  divine  truth  will  often 
reach  their  heart  when  a  volume  of  argument  would 
not  get  beneath  their  garments. 

Whether  in  leaflet  or  conversation,  it  is  better  to 
get  to  vital  things  quickly.  Long  statements  con- 
fuse the  mind  and  cloud  the  issue.  Quote  Jesus  on 
the  fact  that  a  new  birth  is  necessary,  and  John  as 
to  how  it  may  be  acquired.  Dwell  less  on  the  sins 
of  men  than  on  the  regenerating  power  of  God.  All 
men  confess  the  sin ;  few  know  how  to  stop  it  or 
escape  its  consequences. 

But  the  loudest  cry  of  all  is  for  work.  Most  any 
plan  will  do,  and  even  no  plan  at  all,  but  few  lives 

65 


minnins  tfte  Local  Communitp 

will  be  won  to  Christ  in  any  community  until  the 
people  in  the  churches  begin  to  work  for  them.  Not 
one  Christian  lives  that  could  not  each  year  persuade 
at  least  one  other  soul  to  accept  the  Saviour,  if  he 
would  set  out  to  do  it. 

Picture  to  yourself  the  amazing  result!  Allowing 
for  all  shrinkages  and  failures,  the  whole  race  would 
be  won  in  this  our  own  generation.  How  it  quickens 
the  blood  to  think  of  it !  And  how  we  will  probably 
struggle  along  for  centuries  because  those  already 
Christian  will  not  try  to  save  even  one  soul  a  year! 
Every  Korean  Christian  is  striving  this  year  to  win 
at  least  three.  But  the  Koreans  are  just  out  of 
heathenism  and  do  not  know  any  better!  God  bless 
them  and  crown  their  efforts  with  success. 


66 


CONTRIBUTING  ELEMENTS. 


MISSIONS  AND  THE  MISSIONARY  SPIRIT  THE  SU- 
PREME  DYNAMIC. 

IN  every  age  men  have  sought  untiringly  for  the 
secret  spring  of  great  forces.  Ponce  de  Leon 
would  find  the  fountain  of  eternal  youth,  while 
ten  thousand  alchemists  throughout  the  ages  have 
sought  the  secret  of  transforming  common  things  to 
gold.  In  building  great  cathedrals  men  have  discov- 
ered the  vital  essential  to  be  architectural  genius. 
In  erecting  great  commercial  enterprises  the  desid- 
erata have  been  found  to  be  brains  and  gold. 

The  leaders  of  Christendom  have  sought  for  ages 
for  the  force  that  will  do  most  to  build  up  an  efficient 
church;  a  church  that  has  life  in  itself;  a  church 
that  will  grow  strong  by  utilizing  its  own  forces  and 
that  will  become  fruit-bearing  as  well  as  self-propa- 
gating. 

Studying  the  teachings  of  the  great  Founder,  men 
have  ever  held  this  primary  force  to  be  Love.  They 
quote,  at  the  beginning  of  their  argument,  "God  so 
loved  the  world,"  and  at  the  end,  "Love  is  the  fulfill- 
ing of  the  law."    But  twenty  centuries  have  come  and 

69 


Contributing  (Element0 


gone  and,  while  love  has  done  much,  many  churches 
and  whole  Christian  nations  remain  weak  and  ineffi- 
cient. They  with  difficulty  maintain  themselves,  to 
say  nothing  of  winning  the  world  to  their  Lord. 

In  these  later  days,  the  search  for  the  supreme 
dynamic  has  been  taken  up  with  new  vigor.  Men 
have  said:  It  must  be  found.  Out  of  all  their  study 
and  experience  the  same  word  looms  up,  big  and 
persistent.  The  secret  of  Christian  power  is  Love, 
but  now  a  new  idea  attaches  itself  to  the  word:  It 
must  be  Love  in  action.  It  is  not  enough  that  the 
love  be  simply  felt;  it  must  be  revealed  in  service. 
Human  suffering  must  be  relieved;  ignorance,  and 
especially  ignorance  of  God  and  possible  righteous- 
ness, must  be  dispelled;  slavery  to  sin  must  be  abol- 
ished. 

That  Christ  has  a  very  large  and  a  very  impor- 
tant work  for  His  Church  in  the  world  His  own 
words  and  the  history  of  twenty  centuries  clearly 
reveal.  "Go  ye  into  all  the  world"  implies  elaborate 
organization  and  tremendous  activity,  and,  since  we 
are  to  "evangelize  all  nations,"  we  are  assured  that 
our  work  is  important  to  the  last  degree. 

It  does  one  good  to  let  the  mind  swing  out  to  the 
largeness  of  this  idea.  All  too  many  of  us  live  in  a 
narrow  and  circumscribed  world.  Our  horizon  is  the 
nearby  limit  of  our  own  interests.  Our  world  is  all 
too  often  the  world. 

Here  is  a  conception  that  leaps  all  boundaries. 
70 


9@i00fon0  tfte  Supreme  Dpnamic 

Like  the  tides  of  ocean,  it  cannot  be  held  in  check. 
It  will  not  stop  at  family  lines,  or  state  lines  or 
national  lines.  Like  sunlight,  it  leaps  from  continent 
to  continent,  from  mountain  range  to  mountain 
range,  till  every  hamlet,  village  and  farm  is  included, 
and  the  whole  world  is  girdled.  Man's  interests,  am- 
bitions, desires,  loves,  become  world-wide. 

Narrowness  and  inefficiency  are  well-nigh  synony- 
mous terms.  The  man  of  few  interests  is  the  man  of 
small  harvests.  The  institution,  whether  commercial 
organization  or  church,  that  is  selfish  and  self-cen- 
tred is  also  barren  of  large  or  lasting  benefits  to  the 
world. 

To  the  Master  great  tasks  were  congenial.  He 
loved  them  as  the  astronomer  does  his  stars.  To 
step,  in  His  beneficent  plans,  from  city  to  city,  from 
province  to  province,  from  nation  to  nation,  until 
the  whole  world  was  reached,  was  to  Him  as  the  joy 
of  a  holiday.  The  labor  involved  did  not  check  Him ; 
possible  suffering  did  not  daunt  Him.  To  lay  a  re- 
deemed world  at  the  feet  of  a  grateful  Father  was 
to  have  all  the  reward  he  craved;  was  sufficient  in- 
centive to  drive  Him  continually  to  His  task. 

O  matchless  ambition !  No  stain  of  selfishness  is 
here.  The  flesh,  with  all  its  sensuous  desires,  has 
been  subdued;  the  full  flame  of  altruistic  love  bums 
pure  and  free;  a  life  has  appeared  that  thinks  not 
of  itself,  but  of  the  service  it  can  render  others ;  that 
is  ambitious  only  to  bury  itself  in  one  supreme  effort 

71 


Conttiliutmg  OBlemenw 


to  buy  back  a  sin-sold  race.  Such  an  ambition  God 
can  approve ;  such  an  ambition  he  can  bless ;  behind 
such  an  ambition  he  does  not  hesitate  to  throw  the 
weight  of  his  almighty  power  that  it  may  be  realized. 

In  addition  to  this,  Christ  knew  the  value  of  work, 
both  to  the  worker  and  to  the  object  his  work 
affects.  He  saw  that  hard  work  is  essential  to  the 
largest,  fullest  life;  He  saw  that  only  by  hard  work 
could  the  rebellious  hearts  of  rebellious  men  be  won 
back  to  God. 

To  His  followers,  therefore.  His  word  was:  ''Go, 
— evangelize, — everybody.''''  For  faithful  work  along 
other  lines  He  devised  many  rewards.  A  quiet  heart ; 
a  sense  of  forgiveness  of  sins ;  an  assurance  of  vic- 
tory over  the  world ;  but  as  a  reward  for  obeying  the 
Great  Commission  He  provided  the  greatest  of  all 
returns :  Success.  "Lo,  I  will  go  with  you,  even  to 
the  end  of  the  accomplishment  of  this  mighty  task." 
We  are  not  shoved  off  to  perform  a  service  which 
our  Master  is  unwilling  to  do.  It  is  not  menial  labor 
with  which  He  is  unwilling  to  soil  His  hands.  Rather, 
we  are  to  work  together.  Master  and  servant  side  by 
side,  the  Master  not  only  instructing  and  inspiring 
the  servant,  but  putting  His  own  hand  and  His  great 
heart  to  the  task  until  it  is  completed. 

Man  works  with  greater  vigor  when  he  knows  he 
will  ultimately  succeed.  Discouragements  cannot 
chill  his  heart  or  weaken  his  arm.     The  magnet  of 

72 


99i00ion0  tfte  ©upteme  Dpnamic 

assured  success  draws  him  on;  the  promise  of  a 
Father's  "Well  done"  makes  harmony  all  along  the 
discordant  highway.  God  has  not  left  his  toiling 
servants  without  encouragement. 

A  World-Encirclmg  Task, 

The  spirit  of  Christianity  demands  that  the  whole 
world  be  saved.  It  cannot  be  content  with  half  a 
race  when  the  other  half  is  lying  in  sin  and  misery. 
Had  Christ  been  willing  to  stay  in  the  safe  retreat 
of  the  home  at  Bethany,  saying  in  His  heart  that  He 
had  done  pretty  well  already,  He  might  have  escaped 
the  sufferings  of  Calvary.  The  idea  did  not  even 
occur  to  Him.  To  save  Himself  suffering  and  even 
death  at  the  cost  of  a  world's  salvation  was  too  base 
a  temptation  to  touch  His  noble  heart.  Since  He 
could  redeem  a  race  He  would  do  it  at  whatever  per- 
sonal sacrifice.  It  was  hy  this  complete  sacrifice,  this 
giving  of  His  whole  life  for  the  redemption  of  the 
whole  race  that  Christ  won  his  power.  The  Church 
is  just  awakening  to  the  fact  that,  since  all  power 
resides  in  Him,  she  may  secure  that  power  for  herself 
by  obeying  Him;  that  obedience  to  the  Great  Com- 
mission is  the  supreme  dynamic  in  building  a  working 
church. 

The  greatest  mistake  the  Church  of  Christ  has 
made  in  the  past  has  been  her  neglect  of  the  weak 
on  the  seemingly  reasonable  ground  that  she  needed 

73 


Conttiliuting  dBlementt 


all  her  men  and  money  to  maintain  and  strengthen 
herself.  The  mistake  has  not  been  confined  to  the 
few ;  it  has  been  the  creed  of  priest  and  layman  alike. 
It  is  incomprehensible  in  face  of  the  Master's 
well-known  teaching:  "He  that  saveth  his  life  shall 
lose  it,  and  he  that  loseth  his  life  for  my  sake  and 
the  Gospel's  shall  find  it." 

It  is  significant  that  laymen  began  to  notice  this 
thing  before  the  ministry  wakened  to  it.  At  a  recent 
convention  Robert  E.  Speer  quoted  Jacob  Riis  as 
saying:  "Every  once  in  a  while  I  hear  some  one 
growl  against  foreign  missions  because  the  money 
and  the  strength  put  into  them  are  needed  at  home. 
I  did  it  myself  when  I  did  not  know  better.  God 
forgive  me.  I  know  better  now;  and  I  will  tell  you 
how  I  found  out.  I  became  interested  in  a  strong 
religious  awakening  in  my  own  old  city  of  Copen- 
hagen; and  set  about  investigating  it.  It  was  then 
that  I  learned  what  others  had  learned  before  me, 
and  what  was  the  fact  there;  that  for  every  dollar 
you  give  away  to  convert  the  heathen  abroad,  God 
gives  you  ten  dollars'  worth  of  purpose  to  deal  with 
your  brother  at  home." 

To  the  contention  that  other  religions  are  as  good 
for  the  people  who  follow  them  as  Christianity  would 
be,  the  incontrovertible  answer  is :  Jesus  did  not 
think  so.  Confucianism,  Brahminism,  Buddhism, 
Taoism,  Judaism,  had  been  in  the  world  for  centu- 
ries before  He  came.     If  they  could  have  saved  the 

74 


9^f00ion0  tj)e  §)upreme  Dpnamfc 

race  surely  God  would  have  let  them  do  it  and  not 
have  made  the  supreme  sacrifice  He  did  in  sending 
His  own  Son  to  redeem  men  by  the  humility  of  the 
flesh  and  the  agonies  of  Gethsemane  and  Calvary. 
No,  the  sacrifice  and  service  of  Jesus  were  neces- 
sary; they  constitute  the  only  sufficient  provision 
for  a  world-redemption  and  it  is  our  business  to 
let  all  men  know  that  this  full  provision  for  their 
salvation  has  been  made. 

Every  mile  we  stop  short  of  the  limits  of  the 
world,  every  soul  short  of  the  whole  race,  cuts  us 
off  from  that  much  of  power  that  comes  from  a  sense 
that  we  are  at  last  doing  our  whole  duty.  In  the 
address  referred  to  above  Robert  Speer  said  again: 
"God  was  in  Christ,  reconciling  the  world  unto  Him- 
self. There  is  one  Saviour  of  the  world  and  only 
one;  therefore,  he  is  the  Saviour  of  all  the  world. 
Those  whom  He  has  saved  must  carry  Him  to  those 
who  do  not  know  that  He  can  save.  If  this  is  not 
our  gospel,  we  have  no  gospel.  It  is  only  a  gospel 
for  all  the  world  that  is  a  gospel  for  any  part  of 
the  world.  To  narrow  the  right  to  the  gospel  to  a 
race,  or  to  assert  any  one  race's  preferential  claim 
upon  the  gospel,  is  to  destroy  the  gospel.  If  one  land 
is  Christ's,  all  lands  are  Christ's.  If  Christ  is  one 
man's,  Christ  is  all  men's.  To  make  all  lands  His, 
and  to  make  Him  all  men's,  is  the  primary  duty  of 
the  Church."* 

*Robert  E.  Speer  in  The  World  Call  to  Men  of  To-day. 
75 


Contriftuting  Clements 


Many  Church-Favoring  Forces, 

Many  forces  in  modern  society  are  favorable  to 
the  advancement  of  the  Church.  She  enjoys  favor- 
able legislation  in  all  Christian  countries.  Her  prop- 
erty is  exempt  from  taxation;  she  is  granted  pro- 
tection from  disturbance  in  her  regularly  appointed 
services ;  laws  against  Sabbath  desecration  add  to  her 
influence  on  young  and  old. 

She  is  helped  also  by  the  general  interest  the 
Scriptures  arouse.  Their  immense  claim  attracts 
men;  their  rich  thought  and  perfect  language  draw 
thinking  men  to  study  them,  and  rarely  indeed  does 
an  honest  student  refuse  to  believe  what  the  Bible 
teaches. 

An  even  greater  force  in  pushing  the  Church  for- 
ward is  the  splendid  consecration  of  so  large  a  por- 
tion of  her  membership.  Men  give  time  and  money ; 
women  give  loving  service  and  substance.  The  world 
sees  and  is  drawn  to  an  institution  that  leads  to  such 
devotion. 

But  higher  than  all  of  these  is  another  force  which 
adds  to  the  Church's  power  more  than  they  all;  the 
stimulating,  arousing.  Spirit-getting  returns  from 
her  missionary  activity.  The  reason  why  this  is  so 
may  be  a  matter  of  discussion,  but  not  the  fact  that 
it  is.  The  churches  that  are  alive  to-day;  that  are 
growing  spiritually  and  numerically,  are  the  churches 
that   are  giving  most  in  lives   and  money   for  the 

76 


9©i00ion0  tfte  Supreme  Dpnamic 

evangelization  of  the  world.  Generosity  abroad 
means  power  at  home.  The  reflex  value  of  mission- 
ary giving  is  as  great  as  the  direct  value.  When  a 
church  comes  to  realize  that  it  is  linked  with  God 
in  the  salvation  of  the  world,  that  church  cannot 
stand  still.  It  has  within  it  that  which  refuses  to 
sit  at  ease,  and  we  have  yet  to  hear  of  a  generously 
missionary  church  that  is  not  a  rapidly  growing 
church. 

While  saying  this  concerning  the  reflex  value  of 
missions,  it  must  not  be  understood  that  we  under- 
estimate their  direct  value.  "The  sublimest  spectacle 
which  the  world  presents  to-day,"  says  Dr.  Ellin- 
wood,  "is  that  of  scores  of  great  Christian  bodies 
working  side  by  side,  on  all  continents,  and  in  the 
islands  of  the  sea,  printing  their  Bibles  in  three 
hundred  languages,  establishing  schools  and  colleges, 
hospitals  and  churches,  and  demonstrating  the  fact 
that  the  gospel  bears  the  same  precious  fruits  among 
men  of  every  kindred,  tongue  and  tribe." 

To  see  a  whole  people,  as,  for  instance,  the  inhab- 
itants of  the  Fiji  Islands,  transformed  in  a  quarter 
of  a  century  from  naked  cannibals  to  peace-loving, 
law-abiding.  God-fearing  Christians,  is  to  answer 
forever  the  carping  cry  of  the  critics  who  say  Foreign 
Missions  is  a  waste  of  both  men  and  money.  No 
time  can  be  too  precious,  no  money  too  valuable,  if 
nations  can  thus  be  born  again  in  one  generation. 
Society  is  not  many,  but  one.     When  one  part  is 

77 


Conttifiutfng  (Clements 


lifted  all  is  lifted.  If  there  were  no  other  benefits 
rendered  redeemed  men  than  their  new  place  and  rela- 
tion in  society,  it  would  repay  all  the  outlay.  No 
heart  that  is  really  Christian  can  shut  itself  against 
the  despairing  cry  of  heathen  life.  It  is  the  wail  of 
an  infant  for  the  strong  arms  of  its  mother;  the 
cry  of  the  weak  for  the  help  of  the  strong.  To  refuse 
to  help  is  to  prove  to  the  world  that  the  heart  is  not 
yet  fully  Christian. 

But  to  turn  our  eyes  again  to  the  benefit  to  the 
Church  which  arises  from  unselfish  missionary  en- 
deavor, we  are  reminded  of  the  Master's  own  simile: 
"Except  a  kernel  of  wheat  fall  into  the  ground  and 
die  it  abideth  alone,  but  if  it  die,  it  bringeth  forth 
much  fruit."  What  is  that  but  to  say :  The  church 
that  thinks  only  of  itself  and  its  own  welfare;  that 
will  not  sacrifice  its  own  comfort  for  the  salvation 
of  others ;  that  will  not  exercise  the  spirit  of  sacri- 
fice of  the  Christ,  must  remain  small  and  weak,  but 
if  it  is  willing  to  forget  itself;  to  live  for  others; 
to  deny  itself  comforts  that  other  men  may  be  saved ; 
it  shall  not  only  arouse  its  own  members  to  a  hitherto 
unknown  measure  of  generosity,  but  shall  attract 
scores  of  lives  by  its  Christ-like  spirit,  so  that 
whereas  before  it  was  small  and  weak,  now  it  shall 
be  large  and  powerful. 

Examples  that  Prove  the  Doctrine, 

A  certain  church  in  the  heart  of  the  Golden  Com 
78 


99i00ion0  tfte  Supreme  Dgnamic 

Belt  of  Illinois  was  moving  along  a  few  years  ago 
at  a  comfortable  and  satisfying  pace.  Congrega- 
tions were  good,  money  for  current  expenses  was 
ample,  and  a  few  people  were  uniting  with  the  church 
each  year  on  confession  of  faith.  Following  the  now 
famous  Omaha  Men's  Missionary  Convention,  the 
pastor  suggested  to  his  good  people  that  they  do 
something  more  for  God  along  foreign  mission  lines ; 
something  a  little  more  nearly  commensurate  with 
their  ability  and  with  what  they  were  doing  in  com- 
mercial, social  and  political  life.  He  proposed  the 
Omaha  standard  of  an  average  of  five  dollars  per 
member  for  the  year.  It  meant  something  over  two 
thousand  five  hundred  dollars;  twice  or  three  times 
as  much  as  the  church  had  ever  given  before. 
Startled  for  a  moment,  the  people  quickly  rallied; 
said  they  would  do  it,  and  that  night  telegraphed 
the  Board  of  their  substantial  advance.  It  was  a 
great  day  for  the  Church.  Hearts  were  stirred  that 
had  long  lain  dormant.  The  pastor  foresaw  an  up- 
rising. 

Monday  evening  he  was  waited  upon  by  two  eager 
elders.  The  people,  they  said,  were  fired  with  a  new 
spirit.  They  wanted  some  special  services,  the  sooner 
they  could  begin  the  better.  The  pastor  proposed 
the  securing  of  a  trained  evangelist.  They  said.  No ; 
it  was  not  necessary.  His  own  preaching  would  be 
enough.  The  meeting  started  the  very  next  Sunday ; 
ran  for  two.  weeks.    The  people  came  as  never  before. 

79 


Comriftuting  (Element 


They  worked  for  their  unsaved  friends.  At  the  com- 
munion following  a  greater  number  joined  the  church 
on  confession  of  faith  than  had  come  in  the  two 
years  preceding.  Audiences  increased,  money  was 
more  plentiful  for  every  other  Board.  Gradually 
the  church  awakened  to  the  fact  that  it  had  had  the 
best  revival  in  its  history,  and  all  because  it  had 
begun  to  obey  the  Great  Commission  and  do  its 
adequate  share  in  carrying  the  Gospel  to  the  whole 
world.  Nothing  will  so  waken  the  evangelistic  spirit 
at  home. 

Perhaps  the  most  celebrated  case  of  quick  returns 
for  enlarged  missionary  giving,  considering  what  has 
subsequently  grown  out  of  it,  is  that  of  the  First 
Presbyterian  Church  of  Wichita,  Kansas.  Respond- 
ing at  last  to  several  urgent  requests,  the  then  pastor, 
Dr.  Charles  Edwin  Bradt,  has  sent  the  following 
account  with  privilege  to  publish.  It  is  given  here 
with  the  prayer  that  its  reading  may  stimulate  still 
other  pastors  and  churches  to  put  God  to  the  test 
at  the  point  of  His  promises. 

Several  years  ago  conditions  prevailed  in  Wichita 
which  made  the  continued  existence  of  any  institu- 
tion, however  free  from  internal  embarrassment,  more 
or  less  precarious.  But  the  First  Presbyterian 
Church  was  burdened  with  many  thousands  of  dollars 
of  debt,  with  no  assets  that  had  any  marketable  value. 
[The  members,  though  heroic  and  generous,  had  per- 

80 


9910010110  tfte  Supreme  Dgnamic 

sonal  obligations  and  responsibilities  which  taxed 
them  almost  beyond  the  limit  of  endurance.  These 
conditions  made  the  problem  of  a  bare  existence  as  a 
church  organization  and  the  maintenance  of  the 
stated  services  of  the  church  a  great  question.  The 
fact  is,  such  an  existence  had  not  been  financially  sus- 
tained for  some  time  previous,  and  in  consequence  a 
floating  indebtedness,  rising  higher  and  higher  each 
year,  was  threatening  to  submerge  the  church  and  ex- 
tinguish the  lighted  candlestick,  or  cause  its  removal. 
When,  added  to  this  state,  they  looked  not  upon  a 
fair  harbor  in  which  they  might  anchor  for  a  time 
until  the  storm  was  passed,  but  upon  the  frowning 
cliffs  and  rocks  of  a  large  bonded  debt  of  $18,000, 
for  which  they  had  nothing  to  show,  and  with  which 
they  had  no  means,  apparently,  to  grapple,  it  is  not 
surprising  that  they  were  well-nigh  discouraged. 

At  this  time,  however,  the  Lord  appeared  unto  the 
church,  as  truly  as  he  appeared  unto  Paul  of  old, 
and  said  to  her  what  he  said  to  Paul : 

"Rise,  and  stand  upon  thy  feet:  for  I  have  ap- 
peared unto  thee  for  this  purpose,  to  make  thee  a 
minister  and  a  witness  both  of  these  things  which 
thou  hast  seen,  and  of  those  things  in  the  which  I 
will  appear  unto  thee ;  delivering  thee  from  the  peo- 
ple, and  from  the  Gentiles,  unto  whom  now  I  send 
thee,  to  open  their  eyes,  and  to  turn  them  from  dark- 
ness to  light,  and  from  the  power  of   Satan  unto 

81 


Contriftuting  OElemenw 


God,  that  they  may  receive  forgiveness  of  sins,  and 
inheritance  among  them  which  are  sanctified  by  faith 
that  is  in  me. 

"All  power  is  given  unto  me  in  heaven  and  in 
earth.  Go  ye,  therefore,  and  make  disciples  of  all 
the  nations,  baptizing  them  into  the  name  of  the 
Father,  and  of  the  Son  and  of  the  Holy  Ghost; 
teaching  them  to  observe  all  things  whatsoever  I 
have  commanded  you;  and  lo,  I  am  with  you  alway, 
even  unto  the  end  of  the  world.    Amen." 

In  the  face  of  these  facts  the  doctrine  was 
preached,  that  Christ  had  conditioned  His  presence 
and  His  almighty  power,  the  Holy  Spirit,  upon 
practical  willingness,  on  the  part  of  His  people,  to 
obey  the  Great  Commission.  One  cold,  bleak  January 
morning  the  pastor  crossed  the  threshold  of  the 
church  with  this  conviction  in  his  heart,  prepared 
with  a  message  for  his  discouraged  people,  that  their 
salvation  as  a  church,  financially,  and  every  other 
way,  depended  upon  their  taking  the  little  flour  they 
had  in  the  barrel  and  the  little  oil  they  had  in  the 
cruse  and  undertaking  to  feed  first  of  all  the  starving 
millions  of  heathen  souls  with  the  bread  of  life. 
From  the  sacred  precincts  of  the  empty  pews  and 
galleries  of  the  church  that  pastor  seemed  to  hear 
whispers  as  he  passed  along  the  aisles  of  the  church 
to  the  session  room  to  meet  the  elders  for  prayer 
before  the  service.    The  import  of  those  whisperings 


93i00ion$  tfte  Supreme  Dpnamic 

seemed  to  be  that  the  pastor  had  gone  crazy,  that 
he  had  lost  his  mental  balance.  But  at  every  step 
a  voice  within  said,  "Lo,  I  am  with  thee."  And  he 
knew  it  to  be  the  voice  of  the  Son  of  God.  When 
he  reached  the  session  room  he  looked  in  the  faces 
of  those  men  of  God  for  encouragement  in  the  deliv- 
ery of  his  message. 

As  they  prayed  eyes  were  filled  with  tears,  and  as 
the  pastor  turned  his  face  to  the  wall  to  hide  their 
flow,  through  his  tears  he  saw  the  Son  of  God,  and 
again  he  heard  Him  say,  "Lo,  I  am  with  thee."  And 
the  Lord  did  stand  with  him  while  he  delivered  his 
message  that  morning,  and  Christ  revealed  Himself 
as  a  world  Saviour  to  the  people.  Whereupon  this 
church  was  not  disobedient  unto  the  heavenly  vision, 
but  undertook  to  show  unto  them  of  China,  as  well 
as  at  Wichita  and  of  our  own  land,  that  they  should 
repent  and  turn  to  God  and  do  works  meet  for  re- 
pentance. That  very  day  the  church  took  for  sup- 
port a  missionary  pastor  on  the  foreign  fields.  Dr. 
Hunter  Corbett,  of  Chefoo,  China.  And  that  very 
year,  too,  the  church  closed  its  books  without  a  deficit 
in  its  current  expenses,  and  with  its  floating  debt 
removed — a  condition  it  had  not  enjoyed  for  ten 
years  previous,  according  to  the  showing  of  the 
treasurer.  The  next  year  the  Church  more  than 
doubled  the  amount  contributed  to  foreign  missions 
the  previous  year,  and  added  to  its  pay  roll  a  home 


Contriftutinff  (Elements 


missionary,  and  that  year  it  removed  its  bonded 
debt,  closing  the  year  with  money  in  the  treasury  and 
all  financial  obligations  met. 

The  philosophy  of  the  church's  salvation  at  that 
time  was  this:  The  church  became  enamoured  with 
Jesus  Christ  and  the  work  for  which  he  gave  his 
life,  and  in  consequence  she  entered  upon  a  life  of 
faith  to  give  even  the  little  meal  she  had  in  the 
barrel  and  the  oil  in  the  cruse  for  Jesus  Christ,  and 
to  go  with  Christ  even  unto  the  uttermost  parts  of 
the  earth  to  help  save  lost  men.  In  consequence 
Christ  verified  his  promise  to  be  with  the  church. 

The  foreign  pilgrimage  cost  the  church  during  the 
following  ten  years  about  $25,000,  with  which  she 
sustained  four  American  foreign  missionaries  and 
about  twenty-five  native  pastors  and  assistants,  and 
much  other  work.  The  church  last  year  contributed 
an  average  of  over  five  dollars  a  member  to  foreign 
missions. 

But  the  fact  that  the  church  went  so  far  away 
from  home  in  her  interests  and  with  such  an  increase 
of  contributions  is  not  the  only  thing  that  has  caused 
comment,  or  awakened  curiosity,  not  to  say  wonder, 
in  the  minds  of  some  people.  This,  to  be  sure,  was 
done  at  a  time  when  the  church  was  financially  em- 
barrassed at  home  and  her  very  life  and  existence 
threatened.  Hence  it  seemed  to  some  sur  ;idal  and 
foolish.  But  during  the  very  time,  by  reafon  of  this 
same  love  for  Jesus  Christ,  born  of  a  fresh  vision 

84 


9@i00ion0  tfte  Supreme  Dpnamic 

of  the  Son  of  God,  revealed  through  His  word  in  the 
clear  light  of  the  Great  Commission,  the  church  was 
enabled  to  do  as  much  for  home  missions  as  for 
foreign,  and  upward  of  $25,000  during  those  ten 
years  was  put  upon  the  altar  of  God  for  this  work 
also. 

But  this  was  not  yet  the  most  astonishing  result 
of  becoming  enamoured  of  Jesus  Christ  when  the 
church  perceived  the  heavenly  vision  and  received  the 
Great  Commission.  So  greatly  was  the  church 
wrought  upon  by  the  Spirit  taking  the  things  of 
Jesus  and  showing  his  attractive  beauty  unto  her, 
namely.  His  self-denial  for  the  lost  world,  that  she 
was  enabled  to  contribute  not  only  thus  to  further 
the  gospel  at  home  and  abroad,  but  out  of  what 
seemed  her  poverty  she  brought  so  generously  that 
during  those  ten  years  upward  of  $75,000  was  con- 
tributed by  her  to  sustain  the  preaching  of  the 
gospel  and  establish  the  kingdom  of  God  in  Wichita. 
So  that  the  church  had  not  only  no  debt,  but  she 
maintained  in  Wichita  one  of  the  largest  plants  doing 
business  for  God  anywhere  in  the  United  States,  with 
a  pastor,  two  assistant  pastors,  a  minister  of  music, 
two  office  assistants,  a  city  missionary,  a  central 
church  of  1,400  members,  a  Bible  school  with  about 
one  hundred  officers  and  teachers,  and  seven  hundred 
scholars,  a  men's  department,  with  a  men's  club  and 
two  boys'  clubs,  a  girls'  industrial  department,  a 
girls'   club,  two   Christian   Endeavor   Societies,  two 

85 


Contriljuting  (Bltmtnt$ 


ladies'  societies,  a  Young  People's  Missionary  So- 
ciety, a  Junior  Missionary  Society,  a  Children's 
Mission  Band,  a  Bible  training  department,  issuing 
many  thousands  of  pages  of  printed  matter  each 
year,  and  a  missionary  magazine. 

A  similar  story  is  told  by  every  pastor  and  church 
that  has  tried  the  experiment.  How  long  we  have 
been  in  learning  a  thing  which  now  appears  so  simple ! 
Christ  knew  the  needs  of  the  world  better  than  any 
one  else,  and  what  He  was  willing  to  reward  men 
most  for  doing.  Many  a  vision  of  the  world's  con- 
dition had  been  granted  Him.  He  did  not  want  it 
as  a  material  possession — that  he  spurned  in  the  hour 
of  His  great  temptation — ^but  He  did  crave  it  as  a 
spiritual  possession.  Men's  soul-suffering  appealed 
to  Him.  Could  He  free  them  from  the  love  of  sin? 
Could  He  break  from  their  lives  the  shackles  of 
wickedness?  Could  He  make  them  see  the  insignifi- 
cance of  the  things  of  this  world  as  compared  with 
the  glory  of  His  Father's  Kingdom?  That  would  be 
a  work  worth  doing ;  that  would  be  worth  the  loss  of 
all  things  else.  Starting  to  win  man  back  to  His 
Father,  He  could  not  be  satisfied  with  less  than  all 
men,  so,  to  make  their  winning  more  sure.  He  said 
to  those  He  left  to  finish  the  work  He  could  only 
begin:  "If  you  will  go  right  on  and  do  this  most 
important  work;  forget  and  even  deny  yourselves 
in  your  eagerness  to  get  my  plan  into  the  hearts  of 
all  men,  I  will  not  only  go  with  you  and  help  you 

86 


9ii00iDn0  tbt  Supreme  Dpnamic 

till  the  task  is  done,  but  I  will  give  to  you  the  richest 
blessings  of  my  Father's  Kingdom.  For  other  ser- 
vices you  will  get  much;  for  this  supreme  service 
you  will  get  most.  He  that  loseth  his  life  for  my 
sake  shall  find  it." 

Now  the  secret  is  out.  It  is  becoming  better 
known  every  day.  It  is  being  proved  true  by  more 
and  more  congregations  willing  to  try.  There  is  no 
longer  any  reason  for  churches  remaining  small  and 
weak.  They  may  be  large  and  powerful  if  they  will 
follow  God's  plan.  "Go  and  I  will  be  with  you."  He 
does  not  promise  to  be  with  churches  that  refuse 
to  go  to  the  extent,  not  of  their  selfishness,  but  of 
their  ability.  The  churches  that  obey  suddenly  rise 
up  as  by  a  new  might.  It  is  the  might  of  God  Him- 
self, which  no  adversary  can  withstand  and  which 
wins  all  men.  Men  and  churches  that  so  obey  as  to 
win  the  presence  and  power  of  the  God-Spirit  be- 
come mighty  in  both  deed  and  influence. 


87 


VI. 

THE   SPIRIT  OF   EVANGELISM. 

THE  amazingly  rapid  growth  of  the  Church  in 
the  early  centuries  is  found  to  be  due  in 
large  part  to  the  spirit  of  evangelism  which 
animated  every  member.  The  heresy  that  Christian- 
ity is  something  a  man  should  get  as  a  personal  pos- 
session and  selfishly  keep  was  not  yet  abroad.  It 
was  Good  News  from  a  far  country,  and  whoever 
got  it  first  was  not  content  until  he  had  told  it  per- 
suasively to  all  his  friends. 

True,  it  had  not  yet  been  abused.  Men  had  never 
yet  used  it  as  a  cloak  to  hide  sin,  or  a  coigne  for 
personal  advantage.  Not  yet  did  men  profess  it  as 
a  faith  only  to  deny  it  by  their  life.  It  was  pure 
and  undefiled,  while  every  life  possessing  it  was  so 
true  and  strong,  so  powerful  against  temptation  and 
so  brave  in  trial,  that  men  on  every  hand  said:  "If 
this  new  religion  can  do  that  for  me,  I  want  it." 

Is  it  not  possible  for  the  Church  in  the  twentieth 
century  to  take  on  the  fervor  of  the  first  .'^  Too  long 
has  she  been  content  if  she  prospered.  She  has 
allowed  self-maintenance  to  consume  her  time  and 
substance.     Too  long  she  has  left  her  pastors  to  do 

88 


C6e  Spirit  of  dBtoangelfgm 

the  work  of  soul-winning,  content  if  they  brought 
into  the  Kingdom  a  dozen  souls  a  year.  Too  long 
she  has  criticised  those  pastors  for  not  doing  more 
of  that  which  is  her  work  as  much  as  theirs,  and 
which  they  can  never  do  completely  without  her 
help.  It  was  to  the  whole  body  of  Christians  Christ 
spoke  the  parable  of  the  leaven.  Until  we  all  begin 
to  impart  the  Christ  nature  we  have  acquired  to 
those  we  touch,  the  whole  world  will  not  be  Christian. 
No  religious  organization,  however  perfect,  can 
be  truly  called  a  Working  Church  that  is  not  pri- 
marily doing  the  work  Christ  set  for  it;  that  is  not 
striving  earnestly  and  continuously  to  win  men  to 
Jesus ;  that  is  not  shot  through  and  through  with 
the  spirit  of  Evangelism.  There  is  more  than  grim 
humor  in  the  explanation  of  the  old  restaurant 
keeper  that  she  could  sell  ice-cream  cheaper  than 
her  competitors  because  she  saved  the  cost  of  ice 
by  setting  her  freezers  against  the  walls  of  a  nearby 
church.  A  cold  church  is  a  libel  on  the  Master. 
It  gives  a  false  picture  of  Him  to  the  world.  It 
drives  men  from  Him  when  it  ought  to  draw  them. 
Dignity  and  formalism  are  the  refuge  of  small  lives. 
Large  ones  can  afford  to  be  open  and  hospitable. 

Let  the  Leader  Lead, 

No  pastor  dare  close  his  eyes  to  the  fact  that 
what  he  is  in  this  regard,  his  people  are  very  likely 
to  be.     How  rarely  does  a  people  have  greater  zeal 

89 


Conttifiuting  dBIemenw 


in  soul-winning  than  the  minister  they  have  called  to 
their  head!  How  quickly  do  they  give  it  up  when 
the  successor  to  a  soul-winner  feels  that  "all  this 
fuss"  is  unnecessary.  There  at  least  it  will  be  "like 
priest,  like  people." 

In  our  day,  one  confesses  with  keen  regret,  many 
a  fine  fellow  in  the  ministry  has  sacrificed  efficiency 
as  a  soul-winner  on  the  altar  of  modern  scholarship. 
No  sane  man  can  object  to  the  highest  learning,  but 
when  it  cools  a  man's  ardor,  obscures  an  intimate 
vision  of  the  Master's  face,  weakens  his  faith  in  God 
or  the  Bible,  it  has  done  the  servant  of  Jesus  an 
irreparable  injury. 

"The    bird    with    the   broken    pinion. 
Never  soared  so  high  again." 

A  minister  can  be  forgiven  for  being  ignorant  of 
the  latest  things  in  Biblical  criticism;  he  cannot  be 
forgiven  if  he  lacks  an  intimate  personal  acquaint- 
ance with  Him  whose  representative  he  was  ordained 
to  be.  No  minister  need  hope  to  build  up  a  strong 
working  church  who  has  not  in  his  heart  the  spirit 
of  the  evangelist.  History  is  a  unit  on  this  point. 
He  may  create  a  perfect  social  organism,  a  successful 
religious  club,  but  it  will  never  be  a  working  church. 

And,  therefore,  the  minister  who  hopes  to  render 
large  service  to  the  Kingdom  and  who  has  not  the 
heart  of  an  evangelist,  must  get  it.  This  is  more 
possible  to-day  than  ever  before.     Summer  schools 

90 


C6e  ©pfrft  of  (JBtiangel{0m 

and  Bible  conferences  abound,  where  Spirit-filled  men 
reveal  the  possibilities  of  human  organs.  Hearts 
that  have  never  been  warm,  or  that  have  grown  cold 
in  the  Arctic  regions  of  religious  indifference,  are 
made  to  throb  and  glow.  Men  whose  ministry  has 
been  a  function,  who  have  ground  out  sermons  and 
marriage  and  funeral  ceremonies  like  nickel-fed  au- 
tomatons, waken  to  the  fact  that  the  ministry  may 
be  a  live,  fruit-bearing  thing;  that  instead  of  dying 
with  ermuiy  they  may  glow  continually  with  the  con- 
sciousness of  achievement.  The  enthusiasm  of  twice- 
born  men  is  contagious.  It  makes  the  man,  in  any 
way  responsible  for  the  transformation,  tingle  with 
new  life  himself  and,  from  a  position  of  weary  suf- 
ferance, he  comes  to  look  upon  the  ministry  as  the 
greatest  work  in  the  world,  the  onlz/  work  worthy  a 
lifetime  of  effort. 

Returning  from  such  Christ-Schools  the  awakened 
minister  goes  back  to  his  New  Testament.  What  a 
fascinating  book  it  has  suddenly  become !  Before  he 
had  hard  work  to  fill  the  preaching  appointments; 
now  he  has  so  many  sermons  he  cannot  find  occasions 
enough  on  which  to  preach  them !  Before,  men  said 
of  his  sermons,  "What  finished  literary  productions." 
Now  they  say,  "What  gripping,  heart-searching  ap- 
peals." Before  they  said,  "Our  church  is  prosper- 
ing." Now  they  say,  "Our  church  is  growing — new 
lives  every  Sunday."  Before  they  said,  "Our  minister 
is  a  perfect  Christian  gentleman."     Now  they  say, 

91 


Conttffiutfng  Clementt 


"Our  minister  is  a  power  for  God,  a  true  servant 
of  Christ,  a  winner  of  souls." 

His  prayer  life  also  will  be  transformed.  The 
minister  must  pray  so  often  for  and  before  his  people, 
there  is  grave  danger  lest  he  cease  to  pray  in  secret 
for  himself.  Christ  never  let  go  His  prayer-grip 
on  God.  Other  things  could  wait  while  He  went 
into  a  mountain  apart  to  pray.  When  the  urgency 
was  great  and  the  issue  of  universal  and  eternal  con- 
sequence, he  tarried  in  that  soul-quickening  com- 
munion all  night.  There  is  many  a  good  man  in 
the  Christian  ministry  to-day  who  thinks  he  needs 
more  learning  to  make  him  a  power,  when  what  he 
really  needs  is  more  communion  with  his  heavenly 
Father.  He  knows  enough  of  the  things  of  men, 
but  he  knows  too  little  of  the  things  of  God.  World- 
knowledge  may  come  through  study,  but  God-knowl- 
edge comes  through  "being  silent  to  God"  and  letting 
Him  instruct  us  out  of  His  fullness  and  love. 

The  American  pulpit  has  furnished  numerous  cases 
in  the  past  twelve  or  fifteen  years  of  able  men  who 
have  suddenly  changed  the  whole  tenor  of  their 
preaching.  Brilliant  before,  they  have  suddenly  be- 
come powerful;  actually  preventing  serious,  heart- 
searching  thought  on  the  part  of  their  hearers  before, 
by  keeping  them  enraptured  with  scintillating  para- 
graphs, they  have  suddenly  begun  to  grip  men's 
hearts,  make  them  forget  everything  but  the  God's- 
message  that  pours  at  white  heat   from  their  lips. 

92 


C6e  %pitit  of  (EtoangeUsfm 

One  was  transformed  during  a  long  illness  when, 
walking  close  by  the  gates  of  death,  he  was  made  to 
think  of  eternal  verities  and  the  shortness  of  time 
in  which  to  get  the  race  back  to  God.  Another  was 
at  length  awakened  by  the  barrenness  of  a  really 
brilliant  ministry.  He  saw  the  world  could  never 
be  saved  by  such  ministry,  so  he  went  to  a  new  field 
where  conditions  favored  soul-winning.  Across  the 
sea  a  third,  who  had  laid  the  world  under  obligation 
by  his  erudite  studies  in  English  literature,  was 
driven  at  length  to  see  that  that  only  is  preaching 
which  has  in  it  the  evangelistic  note.  These  three 
men,  who  before  were  heard  by  the  few,  are  now 
reaching  thousands.  Men  are  being  born  anew  under 
their  ministry  every  week,  and  they  feel  that  now  at 
last  they  are  true  representatives  of  Him  who  com- 
manded us  not  simply  to  preach,  but  to  evangelize 
the  nations. 

The  Minister's  Special  Opportimities. 

While  the  Spirit-filled,  soul-hungry  minister  will 
not  wait  for  any  special  time  or  place  in  which  to 
work  for  the  salvation  of  his  people,  he  will  take 
advantage  of  three  special  services  in  which  he  will 
persuasively  tell  the  story  of  the  cross  and  strive 
to  win  men  to  the  Christian  life ;  the  Sunday  morning 
preaching  hour,  the  Sunday  evening  preaching  hour, 
and  the  midweek  prayer  service.  How  shall  he  con- 
duct them  that  they  be  not  simply  religious  func- 

93 


Contttfiuting  OBlemenW 


tions,  but  heart-stirring,  soul-arousing,  second-birth- 
begetting,  religious  meetings? 

In  the  average  church  the  minister  will  have  his 
largest  audience  of  the  week  at  the  Sunday  morning 
preaching  hour.  The  people  have  cleansed  them- 
selves from  the  world's  grime,  donned  fresh  garments 
and  presented  themselves  in  the  house  of  God,  as 
nearly  new  creatures  as  men  can  make  themselves. 
Their  very  thoughts  have  changed  and,  if  ever  in 
their  lives  they  are  prepared  to  receive  a  message 
from  God,  it  is  at  this  hour.  True,  the  majority 
are  often  very  slow  in  responding  to  the  spirit  of  the 
aroused  preacher.  One  would  hardly  go  so  far  as 
John  Ruskin  and  say  they  must  be  raised  from  the 
dead ;  perhaps  coma  would  not  be  too  strong.  At  all 
events  the  people  are  present,  and  the  minister  has 
his  chance  with  them.     What  will  he  do  with  it? 

There  are  two  or  three  things  he  may  do.  One 
is,  preach  a  very  orthodox  sermon  on  an  incontro- 
vertible text,  sing  the  regulation  number  of  hymns 
without  undue  acceleration,  suffer  an  anthem,  take 
the  collection,  pronounce  the  benediction,  and  send 
the  people  home  on  excellent  terms  with  themselves. 
This  is  a  very  easy  and  a  very  pleasant  thing  to  do. 
It  saves  wear  and  tear  on  both  pastor  and  people, 
and  gives  rise  to  few  controversies.  Many  pastors 
adopt  it ;  especially  those  who  have  ceased  to  aspire, 
or  who  have  found  that  acquiescence  often  wins  more 
praise  than  aggressiveness.     Such  ministers  are  usu- 

94 


C6e  ©pirit  of  (Et3angeU0m 

ally  faultless  before  the  people,  however  guilty  they 
may  be  before  God. 

Some  of  us  are  grateful  that  there  is  another 
thing  a  minister  can  do  when  the  Sabbath  morning 
opportunity  is  before  him.  He  can  make  it  a  ser- 
vice when  he  "feeds  the  sheep";  he  can  make  it  a 
service  when  he  "preaches  to  Christians";  he  can 
follow  the  customary  formula  of  scripture  reading, 
hymn  and  prayer,  but  he  can  put  so  much  of  the 
spirit  of  God  into  these  that  men  and  women  will 
be  alert  and  eager  for  some  heart-message  from  their 
King  when  he  rises  to  speak.  "The  newspapers  are 
packed  with  world-news,  and  the  libraries  are  packed 
with  literature,  so  give  us  a  message  filled  with  the 
Spirit  of  God,  with  the  promise  and  the  plan  of 
eternal  life."  That  is  the  plea  of  the  sea  of  faces 
now  turned  toward  you,  my  Christian  minister.  Will 
you  respond  to  it  ?  Or  through  some  mistaken  notion 
that  men  are  tired  of  the  Gospel  message,  or  through 
selfish  desire  to  astonish  them  and  win  glowing  en- 
comiums by  brilliant  oratory,  will  you  deny  your 
ordination  vows  and  spend  this  precious  opportunity 
in  tickling  the  fancy  of  the  light-minded  or  lulling 
into  greater  quietude  hearts  that  should  be  doing 
great  things  for  God.? 

"I  always  go  to  hear  Dr.  Stultum  when  I  can," 
said  a  gentleman  to  a  friend  concerning  a  minister 
of  great  learning  and  piety.  "He  always  sends  me 
home  so  quieted  and  at  peace  with  the  world." 

95 


Conttifiuting  OBIement^ 


Yes,  but,  my  dear  sir,  how  about  the  great  host 
of  the  unsaved  crowded  about  the  very  church  door? 
Christ  came  not  to  send  peace  on  earth,  but  a  sword, 
until  every  enemy  of  our  God  is  vanquished  and 
peace  reigns  because  all  hearts  are  at  one  with  Him ! 
The  minister  may  well  make  some  part  of  every 
Sunday  morning  service  quieting  to  troubled  souls, 
and  he  may  well  make  an  occasional  service  so  all 
through,  but  he  will  utterly  fail  as  a  representative 
of  Christ  if,  when  he  has  people  before  him,  he  does 
not  rouse  them  to  the  point  of  restrainless  enthusi- 
asm on  the  subject  of  winning  the  lost,  of  moving 
the  unawakened  or  the  indifferent  to  active  associa- 
tion with  the  Christ. 

He  cannot  do  this  with  half  an  hour  of  pious  plati- 
tudes, and  the  customary  hymn — scripture  reading — 
anthem — prayer — sermon — benediction  service,  car- 
ried on  at  the  usual  poor  dying  rate.  Nothing  will 
more  effectually  lull  a  people  to  sleep. 

The  minister  who  has  drunk  deep  at  the  fountain 
of  spiritual  life  will  come  before  his  people  Sabbath 
morning  determined  to  stir  them  to  greater  love  for 
God  and  men.  He  will  be  so  full  of  his  eager  desire 
to  see  men  born  again  that  his  spirit  will  permeate 
the  service,  and  his  people  will  feel  it.  He  will  not 
start  in  to  quiet  them,  but  to  rouse  them;  he  will 
use  all  the  arts  known  to  proper  preaching;  he  will 
grind  his  arrows  of  truth  to  cutting  sharpness,  and 

96 


Cfte  Spirit  of  OBtJangelisim 

will  see  that  every  one  has  a  barb  on  it,  so  that  it 
cannot  be  gotten  out  of  the  life  until  it  has  produced 
an  effect.  The  arrows  will  be  drawn  to  the  head  and 
sent  to  the  heart-target  with  a  bow  of  earnestness 
that  will  bring  conviction,  both  to  saved  and  un- 
saved; saved  to  save  others  and  unsaved  to  save 
themselves. 

Why  should  there  not  be  conversions  at  the  morn- 
ing service?  Why  should  they  not  be  expected  and 
eagerly  worked  for?  A  good  many  customs  of  the 
Church  will  have  to  be  changed  before  our  communi- 
ties, and  so  the  nations  of  the  world,  are  saved.  If 
the  invitation  is  not  given  during  the  service  it 
should  be  announced  that  the  pastor  and  a  committee 
from  the  officers  will  tarry  in  a  convenient  place  at 
the  close  of  the  service  to  confer  with  any  who  may 
desire  to  know  more  of  the  way  of  life,  or  be  received 
into  the  Church. 

Too  long  we  have  earnestly  invited  people  to  ac- 
cept the  Saviour,  and  unite  with  the  Church,  and 
then  have  sent  them  home  without  an  opportunity 
to  accept  the  invitation.  In  many  cases  they  cannot 
be  present  on  the  time  set  for  formal  hearing;  in 
others,  though  the  heart  is  right,  timidity  holds 
them  back.  It  sounds  very  pious  to  say,  "they  should 
be  brave  enough  to  do  anything  the  Church  requires 
to  get  into  touch  with  the  Lord,"  but  it  is  a  sin  for 
the  Church  to  lose  them  when  they  are  not.     The 

97 


Contrffiutino:  OBlement^ 


shepherd  opens  the  gate  wide  that  the  flock  may 
enter  the  sheepfold.  The  Church  may  well  follow 
his  example. 

The  Sahbath  Evenvng  Opportunity, 

There  is  a  widespread  and  very  wholesome  idea 
that  the  Sabbath  evening  service  should  be  different 
from  the  morning.  All  nature  loves  variety,  and 
human  nature  most  of  all.  It  is  entirely  possible  for 
a  minister,  who  cannot  draw  his  people  back  to  a 
second  service  by  his  preaching  power,  to  do  so  by 
putting  the  emphasis  on  other  features.  By  general 
consent  the  evening  service  may  be  openly  evangel- 
istic. This  gives  the  pastor  the  opportunity  he  needs 
to  be  his  own  evangelist.  At  least  half  the  sermons 
any  minister  preaches  should  be  evangelistic,  and 
while  he  must  not  rob  his  morning  service  of  this 
soul-winning  spirit,  most  of  them  will  naturally  be 
given  at  night.  Let  the  people  understand  that  the 
Gospel  message  may  be  heard  in  some  form  every 
Sabbath  evening,  and  then  never  disappovnt  them. 

The  best  possible  preparation  for  a  Gospel  sermon 
is  a  half  hour's  hearty  singing  of  Gospel  songs,  under 
a  good  leader.  No  more  attractive  feature  can  be 
added  to  a  service,  nor  one  that  will  do  more  to  draw 
a  crowd  week  after  week.  The  singing  must  be 
spirited  and  full  of  good  cheer.  Formal  anthems 
may  well  give  way  to  Gospel  solos  and  duets,  and 
every  song  should  contain  a  story  that  grips  the 


Ci)e  S>pitit  of  aBtjangeli^m 

heart  and  contributes  to  a  reverent,  receptive  spirit. 
There  must  be  no  strained  humor  or  striving  after 
mirth,  but  if  anything  occurs  to  cause  a  good- 
natured  smile,  do  not  restrain  or  rebuke  it.  Smiles 
and  tears  are  twin  brothers  and  are  always  found 
close  together.  One  eminent  preacher  of  the  past 
generation  is  quoted  as  saying  that  if  some  one  could 
be  found  to  arouse  the  congregation  to  wholesome 
laughter,  he  would  undertake  to  arouse  them  to  whole- 
some tears  within  five  minutes'  time.  Let  the  people 
be  natural  in  this  service.  It  will  contribute  im- 
measurably to  its  power  and  fruitfulness. 

The  sermon  must  be  full  of  human  interest. 
Hearts  are  not  won  by  abstractions.  What  wins  at 
Water  Street  and  Pacific  Garden  missions  is  the 
testimony  of  redeemed  men.  The  minister  may  tell 
of  these  redemptions.  Such  stories  as  Harold  Begbie 
gives  in  Twice-Born  Men  are  interest-compelling.  No 
audience  can  remain  indifferent  under  them.  Nor 
do  the  people  ever  tire  of  a  fresh  and  timely  telling 
of  the  conversions  and  experiences  of  Bible  char- 
acters. Let  the  imagination  play  within  reasonable 
bounds  and  do  not  spend  too  much  time  with  your 
thoroughly  good  commentary.  A  commentary  may 
do  very  well  as  a  guiding  star,  but  if  the  preacher 
uses  it  as  wind  and  fills  his  sails  more  than  once  from 
its  contents  the  people  will  quickly  recognize  old 
friends  and  give  their  attention  to  their  own 
thoughts.     An  audience  once  lost  is  rarely  ever  re- 

99 


Contributins  ©lement0 


gained.  As  the  air  loses  its  freshness,  tired  flesh  is 
sure  to  assert  itself.  The  man  of  power  is  quick  to 
notice  any  slackening  of  interest,  and  is  ready  with 
an  apt  and  stimulating  story  that  keeps  attention  at 
flood. 

Invitations  to  accept  the  Saviour  and  enter  upon 
the  Christian  life  should  either  close  the  sermon,  being 
pressed  with  earnest  and  tender  solicitude,  or  an 
after-meeting  announced,  the  singing  of  which  begins 
in  the  front  of  the  church  or  in  a  convenient  lecture- 
room  the  moment  the  benediction  is  pronounced. 
Personal  workers  must  supplement  the  pastor's  invi- 
tations, going  with  penitents  to  the  altar  or  inquiry 
room.  Without  this  aid  at  least  fifty  per  cent,  of 
the  possible  harvest  will  he  lost. 

A  right  minister  will  expect  results  from  every 
sermon  he  preaches,  if  not  in  open  conversions,  at 
least  in  secret  convictions  which  will  soon  appear  on 
the  surface.  Go  after  the  people.  Determine  to 
win  them.  Make  resistance  impossible.  The  Master 
said,  "Compel  them  to  come  in."  It  must,  of  course, 
be  the  compulsion  of  a  surrendered  and  ready  will, 
drawn  irresistibly  to  the  Saviour.  Only  after  such 
services  will  the  minister  have  full  right  to  sing  the 
precious  song  of  the  fathers:  "One  More  Day's 
Work  for  Jesus." 

Reviving  Our  Most  Valuable  Service, 

The  third  opportunity  referred  to  is  now  almost 
100 


Ctie  Spirit  of  (2Bt)angeU0m 

lost  to  the  church.  Prayer-meeting  no  longer  starts 
a  spirit  in  the  average  follower  of  Jesus.  In  his 
philosophy  he  needs  money  and  social  intercourse, 
and  physical  relaxation,  so  much  more  than  he  needs 
prayer,  that  to  give  an  evening  to  waiting  before 
God  and  communing  with  Him  is  considered  unneces- 
sary if  not  indeed  absurd.  On  the  part  of  those 
familiar  with  the  Churches  needs,  this  is  recognized 
as  one  of  the  chief  sources  of  her  present  weakness 
and  inefficiency/.  Not  so  much  that  a  midweek  pray- 
er-meeting is  not  kept  up,  but  that  the  spirit  of 
prayer  no  longer  permeates  the  life  of  the  Church. 
Christians  neglect  to  nourish  their  religious  life  on 
communion  with  God,  a  thing  as  necessary  to  its 
healthy  growth  as  food  is  to  the  body. 

One  feels  sometimes  that  the  ministers  themselves 
are  largely  to  blame  for  this.  Thousands  of  the 
splendid  fellows  have  considered  and  talked  about 
the  prayer-meeting  as  a  subordinate  service.  They 
have  made  little  or  no  preparation  for  it  and  have 
had  no  scruples  against  leaving  it  in  the  hands  of 
anybody,  however  unfitted,  who  could  be  induced  to 
**lead."  A  few  random  songs,  a  lengthy  scripture 
Jesson,  read  not  for  itself,  but  as  a  space-filler;  a 
rambling  exhortation  or  a  blundering  apology  about 
having  no  time  to  prepare,  many  "volunteer"  pray- 
ers and  a  few  time-worn  testimonies,  can  we  wonder 
greatly  that  the  "lecture-room"  has  not  been  over- 
crow'ded ! 

101 


ConttitJUting  OBIemenw 


The  two  incidents  following  are  typical.  The 
pastor  of  a  large  church  visited  a  friend  on  a  strug- 
gling city  mission  field.  When  prayer-meeting  even- 
ing came  there  was  a  good  crowd  present  and  the 
missionary  worker  gave  evidence  that  he  had  given 
as  much  time  and  care  to  preparation  as  many  do  to 
their  Sunday  morning  sermon.  The  visiting  pastor 
was  impressed,  but  on  the  way  home  said  to  his 
friend:  "I  enjoyed  your  prayer-meeting,  but  I 
think  I  ought  to  warn  you  that  you  are  making  a 
mistake.  You  cannot  afford  to  give  so  much  time 
to  this  unimportant  service  as  you  must  have  given 
to  speak  as  you  did  to-night." 

Why?  and  why  unimportant?  The  greatest  need 
the  Church  has  to-day  is  to  spend  more  time  in 
intimate  communion  with  God.  No  time,  no  effort, 
is  too  great  for  the  minister  to  spend  on  his  midweek 
prayer  service.  He  had  better  neglect  his  Sunday 
morning  sermon,  so  far  as  the  welfare  of  the  church 
is  concerned. 

A  very  wealthy  member  in  one  of  our  great  city 
churches  invited  her  pastor  and  one  or  two  influential 
members  to  a  grand  opera  box-party  on  a  Wednes- 
day evening.  The  flattered  pastor,  with  an  all-too- 
common  disregard  of  his  midweek  prayer-meeting, 
accepted  the  invitation,  trusting  to  Providence  to 
take  care  of  His  own.  One  of  his  yet  more  wealthy 
members  graciously  refused  the  invitation,  saying 
that  she  had  a  permanent  engagement  at  the  church 

102 


C&e  ®pftft  of  (JBtjangelfem 

prayer-meeting  on  Wednesday  evenings.  The  party 
was  called  off,  and  the  embarrassed  pastor  left  to 
make  such  explanations  as  he  could.  When  our 
pastors  think  more  of  the  prayer-meeting  the  people 
will.    Here  again  the  leader  must  lead. 

There  is  no  reason  why  Middle  Ages  methods 
should  be  continued  in  the  modern  prayer-meeting. 
Let  the  pastor  determine  and  announce  to  his  people 
that  the  midweek  service  is  to  be  raised  to  its  rightful 
place.  Let  him  prepare  a  Bible  Study  that  has 
blood  in  it,  and  that  can  be  given  by  careful  hus- 
banding of  moments  in  about  twenty  of  them.  Let 
him  use  a  live,  spiritual  Gospel  song  book.  Let  the 
accompanist  be  as  good  as  the  church  affords  and, 
if  he  be  not  a  good  leader  of  music  himself,  let  the 
minister  see  that  the  best  available  is  on  hand.  Let 
there  be  nothing  hap-hazard  about  the  service.  A 
Gospel  solo  by  a  sweet  soprano  voice,  some  bright 
thoughts  by  leaders  in  the  world's  religious  life, 
abundant  opportunity  for  every  heart  that  will  pray 
to  do  so. 

( It  would  seem  that  personal  testimonies  that  have 
been  in  circulation,  say  for  more  than  seventeen  years 
last  March,  might,  out  of  consideration  for  all  con- 
cerned, be  withdrawn.  It  is  a  fair  question  whether 
some  other  form  of  edification  should  not  now  be 
given  an  equally  fair  trial.) 

And  now  for  two  innovations  that  have  been  found 
of  incalculable  value  to  one  Church  builder.     When 

103 


Contrfftutfng  dBlemettW 


the  regular  features  of  the  prayer-meeting  have  been 
spiritedly  put  through,  announce  that  as  a  part  of 
the  service,  and  before  the  benediction,  the  company 
will  rise  and  have  five  or  eight  minutes  of  social 
intercourse.  Strangers  will  be  welcomed  and  new 
acquaintances  made.  Many  will  use  the  time  for 
tactful  personal  work  among  the  unsaved. 

(Oh,  yes,  there  will  be  strangers  and  unsaved  also 
in  such  a  prayer-meeting  as  here  outlined.  The 
people  are  not  so  much  afraid  of  prayer  as  some 
very  good  men  seem  to  think.) 

When  the  time  announced  for  the  social  greeting 
has  elapsed,  and  not  a  moment  later,  have  the  organ- 
ist strike  the  chords  of  a  familiar  hymn.  This  will 
draw  the  attention  of  the  people,  and  while  they 
remain  standing,  wherever  they  chance  to  be  at  the 
moment,  let  the  minister  complete  his  announcements, 
concluding  with  the  statement  that  after  the  benedic- 
tion the  pastor  and  officers  would  be  happy  to  meet 
any  who  care  to  inquire  further  about  the  Christian 
life.  Here  again  the  invitation  to  the  Christian  life 
should  be  immediately  followed  by  an  opportunity  to 
accept  it.  Pastors  who  have  never  tried  the  plan 
will  be  amazed  how  many  worthy  people  will  take 
advantage  of  it,  especially  if  he  and  his  personal 
workers  make  good  use  of  the  social  period. 

"And  I,  if  I  be  lifted  up,  will  draw  all  men  unto 
myself."  Distinguish,  brethren,  between  lifting  up 
the  minister  and  lifting  up  the  Master.     Jesus  alone 

104 


Cfte  Spirit  of  (Kt3angelf0m 

has  drawing  power  and  he  has  so  much  that,  if 
persuasively  presented,  few  hearts  can  withstand  His 
appeal.  After  every  such  service  there  will  be  some 
wishing  to  learn  more  of  the  Way  of  Life. 

The  Personal  Interview. 

In  addition  to  the  three  opportunities  above  out- 
lined, there  remains  one  of  almost,  if  not  quite,  equal 
value, — the  personal  interview.  It  is  amazing  how 
few  modern  ministers  grant  it,  or  know  aught  of  its 
peculiar  value.  Few  burdened  or  questioning  souls 
are  able  or  willing  to  speak  of  their  real  difficulty  in 
a  public  meeting  or  even  privately  to  a  personal 
worker  in  an  open  inquiry  room.  Natural  timidity 
interferes  or  the  intimate  nature  of  the  trouble. 
Oftentimes  an  hour  or  a  whole  evening  is  necessary 
to  lead  the  penitent  to  unburden  the  heart  that 
hidden  difficulties  may  be  removed. 

The  wise  minister  therefore  will  let  it  be  under- 
stood that  at  certain  hours  several  days  in  the  week, 
say  from  one-thirty  to  two-thirty,  each  afternoon 
from  Tuesday  to  Friday  (there  should  be  at  least 
one  evening  hour  for  the  convenience  of  those  who 
must  work  all  day),  he  will  gladly  meet  for  quiet 
talks  on  personal  problems,  at  his  home  if  possible, 
any  of  his  people  who  desire  to  meet  him.  When  the 
time  arrives  and  pastor  and  inquirer  are  face  to  face, 
the  pastor  may  easily  and  quickly  come  to  close 
quarters :    "Let  me  see, — what  is  it  that  is  troubling 

105 


Conttifiuting  Clemenw 


you?"  or  "Now  tell  me  frankly  all  that  is  in  your 
heart." 

In  nine  cases  out  of  ten  the  minister  will  be 
amazed  at  the  simplicity  of  the  difficulty  and  the  ease 
with  which  it  may  be  swept  away.  When  men  seek 
a  personal  interview  they  are  not  far  from  the  King- 
dom, and  the  earnest  pastor  will  be  able  to  open  its 
doors  quickly.  While  austerity  is  to  be  avoided, 
the  interview  should  be  as  impressive  as  possible. 
Ordinarily  it  should  not  close  without  bended  knees 
and  earnest  prayers  and  a  hand-grip  that  will  send 
the  inquirer  away  with  rich  memories  as  well  as  an 
awakened  soul. 

And  so  the  earnest  pastor  will  go  on  from  service 
to  service,  from  ministry  to  ministry.  He  will  be 
modern,  patriotic,  full  of  sunshine  and  good  cheer, 
while  at  the  same  time  he  will  have  as  a  precious 
burden  on  his  heart  the  conversion  of  every  life  he 
touches.  If  the  right  Christian  should  be  in  a  con- 
tinual attitude  of  prayer,  the  right  pastor  should  be 
in  a  continual  attitude  of  evangelism.  Like  his 
Master,  his  business  is  to  seek  and  to  save  souls  that 
are  lost,  and  that  day  is  barren  indeed  that  does  not 
show  some  soul  born  anew  or  some  definite  progress 
made  toward  that  most  vital  consummation.  The 
pastor-evangelist  is  the  most  valuable  and  the  most 
welcome  man  in  the  ministry  to-day. 


106 


VII. 

SOCIALi  LIFE;  THE  SPIRIT  OF  FELLOWSHIP. 

HOW  much  shall  moulders  of  Church  customs 
concede  to  the  fact  that  man  is  a  social  being 
and  that,  if  he  does  not  find  congenial  social 
intercourse  in  connection  with  his  Church  life,  he  will 
seek  it  elsewhere?  Very  many  eminently  respectable 
Church  members  in  our  day  insist  that  the  simple 
fact  that  another  is  a  member  of  the  same  congrega- 
tion entails  no  social  obligation  whatever.  All  such 
are  represented  by  that  president  of  the  Ladies'  Aid 
who,  when  asked  if  a  certain  woman  to  whom  she  had 
coldly  nodded  on  the  street  were  a  friend  of  hers  re- 
plied: "O  dear,  no,  simply  a  Church  acquaintance." 
On  the  other  hand  stands  the  fact  that  a  human  being 
cannot  lay  aside  his  social  nature  when  he  happens 
to  want  to  attend  Church,  and,  if  he  finds  no  response 
to  this  nature  when  he  enters  the  house  of  God,  is 
apt  to  consider  it  cold  and  unchristlike. 

Should  one  stop  to  discuss  the  point  raised  by 
some  that,  the  Church  being  a  religious  institution, 
it  should  be  kept  wholly  for  the  service  of  the  soul? 
They  would  have  worshippers  enter  in  funereal  pro- 
cession and  retire  when  the  service  is  ended  without 

107 


Contrifiutfng  (ClemenW 


so  much  as  a  glance  of  recognition  toward  their 
friends.  One  has  much  sympathy  for  those  who 
speak  against  using  the  time  immediately  before  and 
after  the  service  for  loud  general  conversation  which 
touches  upon  everything  from  the  baby's  new  tooth 
to  the  latest  fashion  in  hats  or  the  batting  averages 
of  the  stars  in  the  major  leagues!  It  would  seem 
only  decorous  for  the  congregation  to  leave  the  house 
of  God  without  the  gayety  and  babble  of  an  afternoon 
tea.  But  that  there  should  be  no  interchange  of  good 
wishes,  no  warm  hand  clasps,  no  quiet  meeting  of  new 
friends,  no  earnest  invitations  to  return,  would  hardly 
seem  to  be  the  mind  of  the  Master  who  always  used 
the  place  and  the  time  for  furthering  His  Father's 
business. 

The  New  Commandment :  Love  One  Another. 

There  being  no  plain  utterance  from  the  lips  of 
Christ  or  the  early  founders  of  the  Church  on  the 
subject  of  social  life  among  members  of  a  congrega- 
tion, one  must  draw  conclusions  from  the  general  na- 
ture of  their  teaching  and  the  customs  that  prevailed 
among  themselves.  The  first  point  may  be  gained 
from  the  fact  that  it  was  the  plan  of  Jesus  that  a 
very  intimate  relationship  should  exist  between  those 
who  confessed  Him  and  entered  His  Church.  This 
was  unmistakable  from  the  fact  that  as  He  was  giv- 
ing directions  for  their  new  life  in  Him  He  said:  "A 
new  commandment  I  give  unto  you  that  ye  love  one 

108 


Social  Lffe 


another."  That  members  of  His  Kingdom  on  earth 
could  obey  this  new  and  last  commandment  and  at  the 
same  time  treat  other  members  with  coldness  or  in- 
difference is  unthinkable.  If  we  have  the  spirit  of 
the  Christ,  we  will  be  open,  hospitable,  genial. 

Further  evidence  that  social  life  in  the  Church  rela- 
tion is  to  be  fostered  may  be  gathered  from  the  fact 
i  that  the  early  Christians  were  much  in  each  other's 
company  and  generally  preceding  the  Lord's  Supper 
met  together  for  a  friendly  meal.  The  author  of  the 
book  of  Hebrews  goes  even  further,  saying:  "Be  not 
forgetful  to  entertain  strangers  for  thereby  some 
have  entertained  angels  unawares."  St.  Paul  told  the 
Romans  to  be  "given  to  hospitality,"  and  while  some 
of  this  would  be  to  strangers,  most  of  it  would  be  to 
other  holders  of  the  Christian  faith.  It  can  be  safely 
said  that  the  whole  trend  of  the  New  Testament  is 
toward  allowing  our  social  nature  to  have  full  swing 
in  our  Church  relations. 

One  may  now  go  to  the  other  side  of  the  question 
and  ask  if  it  would  do  violence  to  our  Christianity 
if  we  should  be  gracious  and  unselfish  and  culti- 
vate social  relationships  with  members  of  our  own 
churches  and  with  Christians  generally.  The  answer 
of  every  sane  reader  must  be  an  emphatic  and  un- 
qualified "No,  it  would  be  the  Christ-like  thing  to 
do."  Few  know  how  lonesome  other  lives  are;  not 
many  in  comfortable  circumstances  know  the  ache 
a  thoughtless  snub  may  cause  a  sensitive  and  lonely 

109 


Contrifjuting  ^lemettW 


heart.  If  we  salute  our  friends  only,  how  are  we 
better  than  publicans?  They  love  those  that  love 
them.  We  are  supposed  to  be  an  a  higher  plane.  Will 
we  live  up  to  it? 

Attention  That  Warms  the  Heart  of  Strangers, 

The  testimony  of  strangers  or  chance  visitors  to 
services  in  our  churches  is  not  often  in  praise  of  our 
cordiality.  Confessing  that  the  fault  is  partly  the 
visitor's  for  not  throwing  himself  on  our  necks,  the 
fact  remains  that  for  a  stranger  to  be  allowed  to 
enter  and  leave  a  church  with  only  the  decorous  serv- 
ice of  an  usher,  proclaims  a  lack  at  a  point  where 
improvement  could  be  easily  made. 

The  plan  of  having  ushers  who  keep  a  careful 
watch  over  the  congregation,  noting  the  entrance  and 
exact  sitting  place  of  everyone  who  is  not  a  regular 
worshipper,  is  to  be  highly  commended.  His  services 
may  well  be  supplemented  by  a  "key  man,"  who  has 
in  charge,  say,  the  three  pews  immediately  in  front 
of  him.  Into  the  hand  of  this  watchful  one  the 
usher  may  slip  a  card,  as  he  goes  up  or  down  the 
aisle,  on  which  he  notes  that  a  stranger  is  in  the  sec- 
ond pew  in  front,  third  sitting  to  the  right  or  left. 

The  "key  man"  will  see  that  the  stranger  has 
hymn-book  and  Testament,  and,  when  the  service  is 
over,  will  make  it  a  point  to  grasp  his  hand,  get  his 
name  and  address  if  he  seems  willing  to  give  them 
up,  introduce  him  to  one  or  two  others  and,  if  the 

110 


Social  Life 


visitor  responds  sufficiently  to  justify  it,  find  out  his 
Church  relation  and  induce  him  to  meet  the  pastor. 
It  will  often  be  a  real  service  if  the  worker  have  a 
card  or  leaflet  giving  a  few  facts  concerning  aux- 
iliaries and  their  time  of  meeting,  the  basic  require- 
ments for  membership  in  the  church  and  when  new 
members  will  be  again  received.  Such  hospitality 
may  be  easily  and  inoffensively  extended,  and  after 
such  treatment  the  visitor  will  feel  that  he  is  really 
welcome  and  that  he  has  friends  there  who  will  greet 
him  with  a  smile  when  he  next  appears. 

It  should  be  ever  kept  in  mind  that  the  ultimate 
winning  of  men  and  women  to  the  Christian  life  is 
vastly  aided  by  social  intercourse.  Wholesome  ac- 
quaintance generally  precedes  the  confidence  which 
gives  an  invitation  to  the  Christian  life  drawing 
power.  When  the  richness  of  Christian  character  is 
revealed  by  Church  members  in  gracious  intercourse 
with  strangers  and  friends,  those  strangers  and 
friends  can  be  led  to  think  seriously  of  becoming 
Christians  themselves.  Never  forget  that  it  is  what 
the  Christian  does  and  not  what  he  says  that  draws. 

Human  Contact  the  Secret  of  Influence, 

From  the  above  New  Testament  teachings  and 
from  reasonable  deductions  it  may  safely  be  said 
that,  while  it  must  never  have  first  place,  there  should 
be  a  measure  of  social  life  in  every  congregation. 
The  spirit  of  fellowship  should  be  everywhere  and  all 

111 


Contributing  (BUmtnM 


the  time  in  evidence.  Without  it  a  church  is  cold 
and  cheerless  indeed.  Without  it  the  new  member 
and  the  stranger  feels  that  instead  of  being  among 
warm-hearted  Christians  he  has  fallen  in  with  a 
school  of  icebergs.  With  the  spirit  of  fellowship 
abounding,  every  part  of  a  service  may  be  second  rate 
and  still  the  worshipper  will  feel  fully  repaid  for  his 
journey  to  the  House  of  God. 

Human  contact!  Therein  lies  the  secret  of  in- 
fluence and  power.  Let  life  touch  life.  If  it  be 
wholesome  life  it  will  have  its  wholesome  influence 
and  the  Church  of  Jesus  will  gain  friends  in- 
numerable. 

Let  the  spirit  of  fellowship  show  itself  in  hospi- 
tality extended  to  all  who  worship  at  your  church, 
whether  they  be  members  or  strangers.  There 
should  be  a  good  comfortable  seat  for  the  stranger 
who  drops  into  a  service,  even  if  the  member  who 
pays  for  the  seat  has  to  stand.  ,  One  of  the  few 
things  for  which  a  pastor  may  be  ashamed  of  his 
people  is  when  they  refuse,  or  grudgingly  give,  a  seat 
in  their  pew  to  some  stranger  who,  directed  by  an 
usher  or  no,  finds  his  way  there.  To  make  him  feel 
that  he  is  intruding,  to  make  him  sorry  he  came,  to 
make  him  question  the  genuineness  of  the  Christian 
profession,  is  to  commit  a  well-nigh  unpardonable 
fault.  If,  to  carry  out  the  Master's  spirit,  the  in- 
habitants of  the  by-ways  and  hedges  are  to  be  com- 
pelled to  come  in  that  his  house  may  be  full,  it  can 

112 


Social  Life 


hardly  be  to  the  credit  of  the  pew  holder  that  he 
snubs  a  stranger  when,  without  a  stroke  of  work 
on  the  member's  part,  he,  of  his  own  desire,  comes 
into  the  Father's  house. 

The  Place  of  the  Church  Supper, 

Three  or  four  times  a  year  every  congregation 
should  come  together  at  the  church  for  a  purely 
social  evening.  At  such  times  there  should  be  no 
charge  for  entrance  or  any  refreshments  that  may 
be  served.  Such  may  be  provided  by  the  Official 
Board  as  a  sign  of  gratitude  for  the  honor  shown 
them,  or  by  housewives,  who  are  always  glad  to  help 
the  cause  along.  According  to  the  judgment  of  this 
writer,  refreshments  in  a  church  should  never  be 
elaborate.  A  cup  of  tea  and  a  wafer,  or  coffee  and 
sandwich;  just  enough  to  talk  over.  "If  any  be 
hungry,  let  them  eat  at  home,"  is  the  injunction  of 
the  Apostle.  Here  the  people  have  come  to  get  better 
acquainted  with  each  other,  to  entertain  strangers 
and  to  hold  that  communion  which  should  be  much 
more  common  among  saints  than  it  is.  Little  food 
is  necessary ;  just  enough  to  suggest  the  social  board. 
The  introduction  of  music,  readings,  and,  where  there 
is  a  suitable  room  apart,  games  for  the  children, 
will  more  than  make  up  for  the  lightness  of  the  re- 
freshments ;  and,  because  the  money  question  is  not 
prominent,  will  prove  of  infinitely  greater  value  in 
advancing  the  spirit  of  fellowship.     Furthermore,  it 

113 


Contritiming  (Elements; 


will  do  much  to  develop  and  give  confidence  to  young 
musicians  and  readers  whose  talents  will  be  valuable 
to  the  church  on  other  occasions.  It  will  give  op- 
portunity for  officers  and  pastor  to  speak  those  in- 
formal words  concerning  the  life  and  work  of  the 
church  which  often  have  more  to  do  with  cementing 
the  membership  into  an  effectual  working  force  than 
all  things  else. 

If  there  must  be  "sociables"  for  money  raising  let 
them  be  as  few  and  far  between  as  possible  and  the 
fee  as  low.  The  all  too  common  "Church  fair,"  which 
often  is  a  bare-faced  steal,  wherein  chances  are  sold 
on  bed-quilts  and  hand-painted  punch-bowls,  and 
"the  handsomest  young  lady"  is  discovered  by  the 
spendthrift  tendencies  of  the  biggest  fool,  must 
surely  be  an  abomination  unto  the  Lord,  and  they 
have  no  more  right  in  a  Christian  Church  than  a 
roulette  wheel.  Gambling  is  gambling,  for  big  stake 
or  for  little ;  whether  the  proceeds  enrich  a  scoundrel 
or  a  Church.  A  good  name  is  always  sacrificed  to 
such  riches. 

The  Sabbath  school,  with  its  annual  or  semi-annual 
picnic;  the  Young  People's  Society's  socials;  the 
Men's  Club  suppers,  where,  if  there  is  a  fee  at  all, 
it  is  small  as  compared  with  the  service  rendered, 
will  furnish  all  the  other  opportunities  for  such  gath- 
erings needed,  and  any  further  social  intercourse 
should  be  had  in  the  homes  of  the  people.  Happy 
the  congregation   which,   when   building  its   church 

114 


Social  Life 


home,  found  it  possible  to  provide  social  rooms  en- 
tirely apart  from  auditorium,  Sabbath  school  or 
prayer  meeting  rooms.  These  may  thus  be  kept  for 
their  sacred  purposes  and  the  young  may  never  come 
to  treat  them  as  play-rooms.  Let  the  House  of  God 
be,  as  absolutely  as  possible,  a  house  of  prayer. 

Seek  Out  Hidden  Virtues, 

The  more  fully  the  spirit  of  fellowship  can  control 
the  intercourse  of  Church  members  when  away  from 
the  church,  the  more  naturally  it  will  be  entered  upon 
there  and  the  greater  its  results.  There  ought  to 
be,  and,  according  to  the  Master's  plan,  there  should 
be,  a  more  intimate  relationship  between  Christians 
than  between  Christians  and  non-Christians.  "Ye 
are  my  disciples  if  ye  love  one  another,"  said  the 
Master.  Having  so  many  things  in  common;  the 
same  Master  to  love  and  serve,  the  same  Father  to 
worship,  the  same  virtues  to  attain,  the  same  Heaven 
to  anticipate  and  work  toward.  Christians  should  find 
the  association  of  Christians  sweet  indeed.  Every 
man  has  hidden  virtues,  which  reveal  themselves  only 
after  long  acquaintance  or  deep  search.  Christians 
may  well  seek  for  the  virtues  in  each  other  and,  find- 
ing them,  make  them  known  to  the  world. 

We  always  love  the  man  who  insists  that  his  wife, 
his  boy,  his  house,  his  city  is  the  best  ever.  They 
are  to  him.  He  is  perfectly  honest.  The  secret  is, 
he  has  hunted  out  their  virtues  which  others  may  not 

115 


Contnfluting  dementi 


see,  and  which  he  does  not  see  in  others  because  he 
has  not  sought.  It  will  be  a  happy  day  when  Chris- 
tians, having  acknowledged  the  easily  seen,  and  hav- 
ing searched  out  the  hidden  virtues  of  other  Chris- 
tians, shall  call  them  best  of  all  and  shall  proclaim 
their  virtues  wherever  occasion  shall  allow.  Then 
shall  Christendom  be  a  great  Brotherhood  and  the 
ideal  of  Christ  be  realized. 


ii« 


iVIII. 

MUSIC  IN  THE  SANCTUARY, 

THAT  music  has  a  rightful  place  in  the  life  of 
the  modern  church  every  worshipper  will  at 
once  concede.  Many  lips  that  have  never 
uttered  a  prayer  have  continually  communed  with 
God  in  song.  Even  though  the  song  be  without 
words,  it  may  nevertheless  breathe  a  prayer,  for 
music  has  a  substance  all  its  own  and  has  power  to 
lift  the  soul  of  man  up  toward  its  God.  Its  wings 
may  be  invisible,  but  they  are  none  the  less  power- 
ful. Gossamer  and  gold,  like  the  wings  of  fairies, 
the  pinions  of  harmony  waft  the  soul  of  man  on  high. 
To  some  chord  of  music  every  human  life  is  attuned, 
and  when  the  soul  finds  that  chord  it  is : 

"Like  the  sound  of  a  great  Amen." 

It  expresses  its  hopes,  its  aspirations,  its  desires.  It 
utters  its  gratitude,  it  is  its  song  of  profound  thanks- 
giving. To  many  in  a  public  service,  if  it  be  wisely 
chosen,  the  music  will  mean  more  than  the  Scripture 
lesson,  more  than  the  sermon  even.  With  the  tran- 
quillity and  soul  satisfaction  produced  by  right  music 

117 


Contributing  aEIemcnt0 


many  a  life  will  go  to  its  home  lifted  and  revived, 
with  the  feeling  welling  up  large  and  strong  that  it 
has  been  well  to  go  into  the  house  of  the  Lord. 

If  music  holds  such  possibilities  in  its  gentle  em- 
brace, what  shall  be  said  of  the  church  or  the  min- 
ister who  treats  it  as  a  secondary  or  subordinate  part 
of  the  service?  The  minister  who  looks  upon  music 
as  an  intrusion,  who  gives  it  only  scraps  and  frag- 
ments of  time  and  thought,  or,  worse  yet,  leaves  it 
entirely  to  some  one  else  who  knows  nothing  of  the 
end  he  is  trying  to  reach  with  Scripture  lesson  and 
sermon,  is  throwing  aside  the  greatest  contributing 
force  at  his  command.  Nothing  is  unimportant  that 
may  aid  the  preacher,  even  in  the  smallest  degree, 
in  reaching  the  hearts  he  is  after  and  melting  them 
into  love  for  Jesus  Christ.  One  song,  breathing  the 
sweetness  and  warmth  of  the  Gospel  story,  will  often 
do  more  to  win  indifferent  hearts  than  all  the  brains 
and  eloquence  at  the  preacher's  command.  The  min- 
ister who  says,  with  that  superior  and  self-gratula- 
tory  air  not  wholly  uncommon  in  his  class,  that  "he 
keeps  his  hands  off  of  the  music"  is  hardly  entitled 
to  the  glory  he  thus  takes.  It  is  rather  a  confession 
of  inability,  or  unwillingness,  to  cope  with  a  problem 
that  is  difficult,  to  be  sure,  but,  when  wisely  handled, 
is  capable  of  yielding  immeasurable  contributions 
to  the  very  thing  he  should  be  striving  to  accomplish. 

In  the  average  modern  church  the  music  will  be  of 
three  kinds:   Instrumental,  such   as   Prelude,  Offer- 

118 


09u0ic  in  tfte  ©anctuarp 


tory  and  Postlude;  congi'egational  singing,  in  which 
hymns  and  chants  will  predominate,  and  choir  music. 
In  reference  to  the  first  of  these,  one  is  moved  to 
speak  extravagantly  of  the  modern  pipe-organ. 
Surely  no  nobler  instrument  was  ever  conceived,  or 
one  capable  of  producing  a  more  definite  and  help- 
ful effect  on  man.  If,  this  moment,  it  speaks  in  tones 
of  thunder,  reminding  one  of  Mount  Sinai,  the  next 
it  may  whisper  with  voice  as  gentle  as  angels,  wooing 
man  away  from  the  world  into  the  quiet  atmosphere 
of  heaven. 

The  Minister  Should  Control  His  Service, 

Difficult  as  it  may  be  to  manage,  the  minister  must 
see  to  it  that,  during  his  preaching  services  at  least, 
the  organ  is  not  used  to  display  the  extraordinary 
skill  and  musical  ability  of  the  organist.  The 
temptation  is  great,  and  few  will  withstand  it  unless 
the  minister,  who  must  carry  the  responsibility  for 
the  general  effect  of  the  whole  service,  reveals  a 
strong  hand.  He  will  not  do  this  offensively.  Let 
him  take  the  organist  into  his  confidence,  letting  him 
know  exactly  what  he  is  trying  to  accomplish  by  the 
music,  and  any  worthy  musician  will  at  once  co- 
operate. 

The  minister  has  every  right  to  insist  that  the 
Organ  Prelude  lead  the  people  into  the  service ;  that 
it  produce  a  worshipful  and  reverential  spirit,  and 
that,  far  from  being  distracting  or  calling  attention 

119 


Conttftiutfng  (Clemettt0 


to  itself,  it  shall  merge  in  with  the  service  in  hand 
until  the  people  are  unconsciously  prepared  for 
Scripture  and  sermon.  That  this  effect  may  be  pro- 
duced the  people  must  do  their  part.  To  use  the 
time  during  the  Organ  Prelude  for  neighborhood 
gossip  or  the  interchange  of  social  felicities  is  not 
only  an  offense  against  the  organist;  it  is  a  graver 
offense  against  the  house  of  God  and  the  service 
which  is  to  follow.  If  worshippers  do  not  enjoy 
sacred  instrumental  music,  it  reveals  a  lack  which  is 
far  from  praiseworthy.  They  might  better  give  this 
time  to  the  cultivation  of  the  taste  they  should 
possess.  Important  as  the  social  life  of  a  church 
is,  it  must  not  be  furthered  at  the  expense  of  the 
spiritual  life,  a  thing  which,  apparently,  many  very 
worthy  Christians  have  yet  to  learn. 

If  an  Offertory  is  played,  as  often  as  possible  it 
should  be  a  variation  on  some  well-known  and  be- 
loved hymn.  The  audience  will  follow  the  tune  with 
the  words  and  be  further  prepared  for  the  message 
that  is  to  follow.  When,  in  the  heart  of  the  service, 
the  mind  follows  the  rich  tones  of  the  organ  with 

"Jesus,    the    very    thought    of    Thee 
With  sweetness  fills  my  breast, 
But  sweeter  far  Thy   face  to  see 
And    in    Thy    presence    rest." 

or 

"Sweet   the  moments   rich  in  blessing. 
Which  before  Thy  throne  I  spend." 

the  heart  of  all  true  worshippers  is  ready  and  will 

120 


00u0fc  in  tfte  ©anctuatg 


instantly  respond  to  whatever  phase  of  the  Gospel 
story  the  preacher  persuasively  proclaims. 

While  many  organists  seem  to  think  so,  the  Post- 
lude  is  not  introduced  at  the  close  of  a  service  for 
the  purpose  of  clearing  the  church  in  the  shortest 
possible  time.  On  one  or  two  visits  to  modern  city 
churches  when,  before  the  Amen  of  the  Benediction 
had  ceased  reverberating,  the  quick-step  march  of 
the  organist  has  crashed  on  the  ear  like  the  clanging 
cymbals  of  a  railway  dinner  call,  the  writer  has  in- 
voluntarily looked  for  the  sexton  to  rush  out  and 
begin  to  sprinkle  sawdust  and  sweep  as  fast  as  the 
people  withdraw  toward  the  door! 

Valuable  as  time  is,  it  would  hardly  seem  necessary 
to  do  this  or  for  the  people  to  shuffle  into  rubbers 
and  wraps  during  the  singing  of  the  last  hymn  or 
the  pronouncing  of  the  Benediction.  It  is  all  a  part 
of  the  unpardonable  haste  with  which  we  have  come 
to  do  things  in  the  house  of  God,  and  we  are  paying 
for  it  dearly  in  lack  of  reverence  for  sacred  things 
and  the  manners  of  which  civilization  is  wont  to 
boast. 

The  very  best  plan  yet  entered  upon  is  for  the 
audience  to  remain  seated  during  the  singing  of  the 
last  hymn,  and  then,  with  bowed  heads,  receive  the 
Benediction.  The  people  remain  in  silent  prayer  for 
a  moment  while  the  organist  begins  his  Postlude  with 
quiet  strains,  which  may  grow  louder  as  the  people 
rise  and  move  reverently  toward  the  door. 

121 


Conttifiuting  (Element0 


Handled  thus  the  instrumental  music  will  do  its 
share  toward  an  effectual  and  up-lifting  service  and 
not  be  a  hindrance  to  be  overcome,  a  nightmare  to 
be  forgotten  before  any  value  can  be  had  from  the 
service. 

Let  the  People  Sing, 

Next  in  order  come  the  hymns  to  be  sung  by  the 
whole  congregation.  Originally  these  supplied  all 
the  music  there  was  m  a  religious  service,  and  it  will 
be  so  yet  in  many  churches.  It  is  the  privilege  of 
the  minister  to  know  the  contents  of  every  hymn  in 
the  book  used  by  his  congregation,  and,  if  he  be 
musical,  to  know  the  tunes  also.  An  occasional  hour 
with  his  organist,  going  over  new  hymns,  will  prove 
most  valuable. 

We  hear  much  in  our  day  about  the  selection  of 
hymns  that  "fit"  the  sermon.  To  be  sure,  yet 
there  is  room  here  for  much  wise  caution.  That 
minister  is  hardly  tactful  who  selects  hymns  that 
allow  the  people  to  sing  the  main  thoughts  of  his 
sermon  before  he  preaches  them !  The  hymn  follow- 
ing the  sermon  may  well  bear  directly  upon  the 
theme;  the  ones  before,  while  doing  their  share  to 
prepare  the  people  for  the  coming  message,  should 
never  speak  it. 

For  example,  when  a  man  is  about  to  preach  a 
patriotic  sermon,  in  which  he  means  to  touch  upon 
the  country's   foes,  to  urge  peace,  to  mention  the 

122 


Q^mit  in  tfte  ©anctuars 


crops  gathered  and  growing,  it  would  hardly  seem 
a  stroke  of  genius  to  have  the  freshness  all  taken  off 
of  his  theme  by  having  the  people  sing  immediately 
before  the  sermon  the  hymn  including  the  stanza : 

"O  guard  our  shores  from  every  foe, 
With  peace  our  borders  bless; 
With  prosperous  times  our  cities  crown. 
Our  fields  with  plenteousness." 

Excellent  after  the  sermon;  such  a  hymn  has  no 
place  before.  If  one  were  going  to  preach  on  the 
Holy  Spirit,  a  hymn  in  which  His  gracious  work 
and  leading  characteristics  are  detailed  had  better 
come  after  the  sermon.  How  faulty  the  method 
therefore  of  leaving  this  all  to  some  one  else  who 
knows  nothing  about  the  theme  to  be  discussed  or  to 
one  who  does,  but  does  not  have  these  really  im- 
portant elements  in  mind. 

When  Dr.  Henry  Van  Dyke  left  the  Brick  Church 
in  New  York  a  few  years  ago  one  good  woman  was 
heard  to  remark  that  the  chief  thing  she  feared 
was  that  they  could  never  get  another  man  who  knew 
the  value  of  the  right  hymns  and  who  could  make 
them  contribute  so  much  to  the  services.  Imagine 
her  relief  when  the  successor  turned  out  to  be  Maltbie 
Babcock,  whose  sense  of  the  fitness  of  things  in 
music  was  proverbial  throughout  the  Church. 

The  moment  a  minister  knows  what  themes  he 
is  going  to  preach  upon  the  following  Sabbath,  which 

123 


Conttffiutins  €Iement0 


every  wise  man  will  settle  by  Tuesday  or  Wednes- 
day in  ordinary  cases,  he  may  well  begin  to  think 
about  the  hymns  he  will  use  in  each  service;  does 
he  wish  minds  quieted,  or  does  he  wish  them  aroused? 
Would  he  have  them  thinking  of  God  the  Father, 
Christ  the  Son,  or  the  Holy  Comforter?  Let  the 
hymns  contribute  their  large  share. 

The  subject  of  congregational  singing  is  forever 
alive.  Whatever  a  church  has  by  way  of  a  choir, 
some  good  singer  should  act  as  precentor  on  the 
hymns.  It  will  add  vastly  to  the  general  effective- 
ness of  a  hymn  if  choir  and  congregation  be  singing 
somewhere  on  the  same  staff  at  the  same  time!  It 
seems  surprising  also  that  people  who  are  so  eager 
to  get  away  when  the  service  is  over  should  prolong 
the  service  as  they  do  by  singing  all  the  hymns  to 
the  time  of  Old  Hundred!  It  might  not  be  a  bad 
custom  for  publishers  to  print  at  the  head  of  every 
hymn :  "Accellerato !  Sing  this  hymn  a  half  faster 
than  you  intended  to."  Even  then  the  precentor 
would  have  his  place,  and  in  addition  to  indicating 
the  time,  would  do  his  share  toward  keeping  the 
various  sections  of  the  house  in  a  more  or  less  inti- 
mate relation  with  the  leaders. 

The  greatest  problem  of  all  is,  by  common  con- 
sent, to  get  the  people  to  sing — all  of  them,  on  every 
hymn,  as  if  they  really  meant  the  words  they  were 
uttering — meant  to  worship  God  with  the  voice  and 
with  instruments  of  music.     Few  churches  in  Chris- 

124 


90u0ic  in  m  ©anctuatp 

tendom  equal  Saint  Georges  Free  Church  in  Edin- 
burgh in  the  effectiveness  of  their  music.  Here  the 
large  choir  is  seated  on  a  platform  directly  in  front 
of  the  pulpit  and  nearly  in  the  heart  of  the  large 
congregation.  The  platform  is  raised  only  sixteen 
or  eighteen  inches  above  the  floor  of  the  auditorium, 
and  thus  the  whole  congregation  hears  and  feels  the 
force  of  the  leaders.  Every  worshipper  is  supplied 
with  a  hymn-book,  a  provision  in  which  the  average 
American  church  is  sadly  lacking,  the  opinion  ap- 
parently prevailing  here  that  one  book  to  every 
three  or  four  worshippers  is  quite  enough.  If  one 
should  judge  from  the  volume  and  enthusiasm  mark- 
ing the  congregational  singing  in  Saint  Georges,  it 
would  seem  to  be  a  point  of  honor  for  everybody  to 
sing.  Even  the  selection  rendered  by  the  choir  alone 
was  in  the  book  in  the  pews  and  the  whole  congrega- 
tion followed  the  words  while  the  choir  sang.  Thus 
that  particular  part  of  the  service  was  intelligible 
and  not  the  baffling  mystery  common  with  us. 

Choir  Music:  To  Be  or  Not  To  Be? 

How  much  the  average  anthem  by  the  average 
choir  contributes  to  the  worship  of  the  average 
church  service,  is  becoming  more  and  more  a  mat- 
ter of  question.  Many  are  admitting  a  measure  of 
gratitude  when  they  find  a  congregation  here  and 
there  that  has  omitted  it.  As  a  space-filler  it  has 
considerable  value.     One  remembers  having  been  cut 

125 


Contributing  (Elements 


down  to  twelve  minutes  for  the  sermon  by  a  choir 
that  interjected  three  long  selections  in  one  morning 
service!  As  a  revealer  of  voices  and  voice  culture, 
or  at  times,  the  lack  of  it,  the  anthem  may  also  be 
lauded.  If  it  be  not  introduced  for  these  purposes 
but  as  a  contribution  to  the  service,  then  it  is  a  fair 
question  whether  it  should  not  be  omitted.  The 
words  are  seldom  understood  by  the  audience  and 
few  singers  are  so  filled  with  the  Spirit  as  to  be  able 
to  lift  the  people  without  them. 

More  and  more  are  the  people  inclining  toward 
Gospel  solos  and  duets,  sung  by  sweet  young  voices 
not  too  much  "improved"  by  the  ordinary  culture. 
Such  a  song  warms  and  lifts  the  heart,  preparing 
one  for  the  message  that  must  evermore  be  the  great 
thing  in  a  life-stirring  service.  Let  it  be  a  simple, 
not  an  ambitious  effort  and  the  people  will  be  com- 
fortable and  grateful.  All  this  is  said  without  the 
slightest  reflection  upon,  or  undervaluing  of,  genuine 
musical  culture  in  either  organist  or  choir  singers, 
to  whose  ministrations  the  author  is  deeply  indebted. 
The  above  criticisms  and  suggestions  will  apply 
chiefly  to  churches  in  rural  communities,  where  the 
too  ambitious  efforts  of  untrained  musicians  often 
mar  rather  than  beautify  a  service.  Let  the  effort 
be  suited  to  the  culture  and  all  will  be  well. 

The  principle  that  must  underlie  Church  music, 
as  well  as  everything  else  introduced,  is  that  it  shall 
contribute  to  the  effectiveness  of  the  service  in  lift- 

126 


^n^ic  in  tfte  ^anctuarg 


ing  the  people  nearer  to  God.  Music  that  does  not 
do  this,  however  perfect  it  may  be  in  itself,  has  no 
place  in  a  religious  meeting.  Let  it  be  enjoyed  in 
its  own  time  and  place,  which  this  lover  of  music  be- 
lieves to  be  large,  but  let  the  music  introduced  into 
Church  services  be  simple,  quiet  and  reverential, 
doing  its  full  share  in  making  the  people  glad  when 
it  is  said  unto  them, 

"Let  us  go  into  the  house  of  the  Lord." 


irr 


AUXILIARIES  AS  FIELDS  OF  LABOR  AND 
RECRUITING  STATIONS. 

AUXILIARIES.^THE  SABBATH  SCHOOL. 


IX. 

THE   SABBATH   SCHOOL. 

THE  Sabbath  School  has  not  only  demonstrated 
its  right  to  be;  it  has  proven  itself  the  most 
valuable  auxiliary  of  the  Church.  The  day 
for  treating  the  Sabbath  School  enthusiast  with  an 
indulgent  smile  has  passed;  the  day  for  seeking  him 
out  and  pressing  him  into  service  is  here.  Ministers 
and  laymen  are  realizing  as  never  before  that  this 
auxiliary  is  not  only  the  training  ground  for  Chris- 
tian soldiers,  but  that  it  is  also  the  best  recruiting 
station.  Here  congregate  the  crude  materials  out 
of  which  saints  are  made.  They  come  by  hundreds, 
by  thousands ;  they  may  give  little  promise  of  per- 
fection when  iSrst  they  enter,  but  the  grace  of  God 
is  sovereign,  and  when  this  plastic  clay  has  been 
treated  by  the  skilful  hands  of  chosen  workmen, 
when  the  help  of  the  Spirit  has  been  invoked  and 
received,  when  the  all-powerful  Word  has  been  ap- 
plied and  reapplied  a  score  of  times,  out  of  the  most 
unpromising  material  there  emerge  lives  that  enrich 
all  Christendom  and  cause  rejoicing  in  heaven. 

It  is  the  purpose  of  this  chapter,  therefore,  not 
to  present  methods  of  conducting,  so  much  as  to 


au5eiliane0 


lay  emphasis  upon  the  need  of  fostering  and  pro- 
moting the  Sabbath  School.  Splendid  methods  have 
been  prepared  by  able  writers  of  vastly  wider  ex- 
perience, but  it  is  the  profound  conviction  of  modern 
observers  that  not  one  in  ten  of  our  pastors  and 
Church  officers  has  ever  awakened  to  the  possibilities 
of  the  Sabbath  School  as  a  factor  in  building  a 
working  church. 

The  Practice  and  Experience  of  One  Pastor, 

Concrete  examples  surpass  theory  as  the  sunlight 
the  candle.  The  following  experiences  will,  there- 
fore, carry  their  own  appeal  for  adoption.  During 
a  ministry  of  some  twelve  years,  covering  four  pas- 
torates in  widely  varying  communities,  it  has  been 
the  practice  of  the  writer  to  conduct,  always  once 
and  sometimes  twice  a  year,  a  catechumen,  or  Pas- 
tor's Instruction  Class,  in  connection  with  the  Sab- 
bath School.  He  has  tried  every  conceivable  time 
and  plan,  but  has  concluded  that,  all  things  con- 
sidered, it  is  best  to  start  the  class  about  seven  weeks 
before  a  communion  service,  and  to  teach  it  during 
the  usual  study  period  of  Sabbath  School.  The 
plan  is  to  have  the  scholars  meet  with  their  regular 
classes  as  usual,  and  there  report  to  their  regular 
teacher,  attendance,  lesson  study  and  offering.  To 
go  to  the  pastor  in  his  study,  or  other  place  ap- 
pointed, for  the  study  period  only,  returning  to  the 
class  for  the  closing  exercises. 

132 


Cfte  S)ab6atJ)  ©cftool 


It  is  announced  clearly  that  the  purpose  of  the 
class  is  to  teach  its  members  the  fundamentals  of 
the  Christian  faith  and  to  prepare  those  who  desire 
it  for  Church  membership.  It  is  made  clear  also 
that  coming  into  the  class  is  not  a  pledge  to  unite 
with  the  Church,  but  is  simply  an  expression  of 
willingness  to  learn  more  about  its  requirements  and 
privileges.  It  is  made  plain  that  when  the  six 
lessons  are  over  an  opportunity  to  unite  with  the 
Church  will  be  extended  to  all,  but  that  no  pressure 
will  be  brought  to  bear;  that  each  one  will  come  or 
not  as  he  himself  shall  choose.  When  the  starting  of 
the  class  follows  Decision  Day,  and  this  is  highly 
recommended,  a  special  effort  to  get  every  member 
making  the  decision  into  the  class  should  be  made. 

The  topics  treated  in  the  six  lessons  will  vary  ac- 
cording to  the  denomination  and  inclination  of  the 
pastor,  but  certainly  they  should  include  the  fol- 
lowing: God,  studying  Him  as  Father,  Son  and 
Holy  Spirit;  Sin,  its  Punishment  and  its  Forgive- 
ness; Salvation,  and  How  it  is  Secured  Through 
Faith  in  Jesus  Christ ;  The  Church,  a  Human  and  a 
Divine  Institution;  The  Duties  and  Privileges  of 
Church  Membership ;  The  Sacraments,  Baptism  and 
the  Lord's  Supper. 

No  age  limit  has  been  put  upon  membership  in 
the  class,  and,  while  it  is  primarily  for  those  not  yet 
Church  members,  these  have  not  been  excluded.  The 
class  had  numbered  from  twenty-five  to  one  hundred, 

133 


aunliarie0 


and  an  average  of  seventy-jive  per  cent,  of  the  mem- 
bers have  been  welcomed  into  the  Church  at  the 
Commwnion  following.  The  opposition  of  one  or  two 
superintendents  to  taking  scholars  out  of  their  reg- 
ular classes  for  the  six  weeks  has  always  vanished 
when  he  saw  the  immense  benefit  they  have  received. 
In  a  case  or  two,  where  a  whole  class  has  wished  to 
follow  the  lessons,  the  teacher  has  met  them  at  an- 
other hour  during  the  week  for  the  study  of  the 
International  Lesson. 

Applicants  put  through  such  a  course  of  instruc- 
tion have  proven  to  be  the  best  prepared  of  any  who 
knocked  at  the  Church  doors,  and  the  churches  that 
have  been  creeping  along  with  half  a  dozen  acces- 
sions on  profession  a  year  have  suddenly  leaped  up 
to  half  a  hundred  or  more.  Pastors  may  set  this 
down  as  demonstrated:  The  larger  the  Sabbath 
School,  the  larger  the  Pastor's  Instruction  Class; 
the  larger  the  Instruction  Class,  the  larger  the  num- 
ber uniting  with  the  Church  on  Confession  of  Faith; 
and  the  larger  the  number  so  coming,  the  greater  the 
life  and  efficiency  of  the  Church.  Therefore  the  pas- 
tor, ambitious  to  develop  a  working  church,  must 
give  much  more  time  and  thought  and  work  to  mak- 
ing large  and  strong  the  Sabbath  School. 

Another  equally  fruitful  source  of  the  best  Church 
membership  is  the  gathering  of  little  children,  even 
members  of  the  Cradle  Roll,  into  the  Sabbath  School, 
as   the  first   step  in  winning   their   parents   to   the 

134> 


Cbe  ^abbatl)  ^cbool 


Church.  The  ease  with  which  this  may  be  done  has 
been  proved  too  often  to  need  argument.  There 
can  be  no  more  legitimate  method  for  building  up  a 
church.  The  children  are  gathered  for  their  own 
sakes.  Every  possible  effort  to  build  them  up  in 
Christ  Jesus  is  put  forth  by  pastor  and  teacher. 
One  child  is  worthy  the  best  efforts  of  the  whole 
Church  force ;  but  the  fact  that  their  child  is  receiv- 
ing such  attention  and  benefit  will  attract  the  most 
indifferent  parents.  It  gives  the  tactful  pastor  suf- 
ficient reason  for  frequent  calls.  By  and  by  the 
child  will  wish  to  unite  with  the  Church.  As  natur- 
ally as  he  chooses  friends  from  companions  of  long 
standing,  he  will  choose  the  church  whose  Sabbath 
School  he  has  attended,  and  the  start  is  made.  See- 
ing the  child  interested  the  parents  will  be  glad,  and 
if  they  have  not  other  strong  preference,  will  go 
with  their  child  when  they  unite  with  the  Church. 

The  Boy  Who  Brought  a  Family. 

In  a  western  city  a  young  boy  was  gathered  into 
her  class  by  a  faithful  teacher.  She  had  seen  him 
on  the  streets  Sabbath  mornings,  and  knew  he  had 
no  regular  place.  He  was  the  son  of  well-to-do  par- 
ents, who  were  neglecting  the  Church.  The  mother 
had  joined  another  denomination  in  girlhood,  but  the 
father  had  never  made  a  confession.  There  was  an- 
other son,  still  younger,  who  soon  followed  his 
brother  to  the  Sabbath  School  in  question. 

135 


aunliarfeg 


After  some  two  years  of  faithful  attendance  the 
older  son  asked  his  parents  if  he  might  unite  with  the 
Church.  They  felt  it  to  be  unnecessary,  but  offered 
no  objection,  and  at  the  next  communion  the  con- 
fession was  made.  The  pastor  then  began  to  call  at 
the  boy's  home  and  found  the  mother  glad  her  son 
had  taken  the  step  he  had.  She  then  told  the  pastor 
of  her  fragile  relation  to  another  denomination,  but 
said  frankly:  "Since  Harold  has  joined  your  church, 
if  I  ever  enter  the  Church  again  I  will  go  with  him." 
This  gave  the  pastor  his  opportunity.  He  said  he 
could  not  suggest  that  she  change  denominations, 
but  he  was  profoundly  convinced  that  it  was  the  duty 
of  parents,  and  especially  of  mothers  of  growing 
boys,  to  have  a  church  home  and  lead  their  sons  as 
deeply  as  possible  into  the  religious  life.  She  agreed 
with  him,  and  said  that  if  the  husband  and  father 
would  go  she  would  unite  at  once. 

To  reach  the  father  was  not  easy.  He  was  a  pros- 
perous business  man,  absorbed  by  the  gathering  of  a 
fortune.  He  had  lodge  and  club  memberships  that 
quite  satisfied  the  demands  of  his  social  nature.  His 
spiritual  nature  had  not  yet  been  awakened.  The 
pastor  brought  the  case  before  his  elders,  asking  their 
counsel  and  prayers.  In  the  meantime  the  mother 
became  more  and  more  regular  in  Church  attendance, 
and  frequently  reiterated  her  willingness  to  come  into 
the  Church  as  soon  as  her  husband  would  accompany 
her.    And  now  a  strange  thing  happened :   The  hus- 

136 


Cfte  ©abliatft  %>ttool 


band  was  thrown  upon  his  back  with  a  severe  illness. 
For  weeks  his  life  was  despaired  of.  He  was  too  ill 
to  see  anyone  and  the  pastor  could  only  pray  in 
silence.  Finally,  during  the  man's  slow  convalescence, 
the  minister  ventured  to  send  to  the  house  a  pamphlet 
treating  in  modern  fashion  the  fundamental  questions 
of  the  Christian  faith.  This  the  convalescent  read 
and  re-read  many  times.  When  at  length  he  could 
receive  visitors  he  asked  for  his  son's  pastor,  made  a 
clear  and  genuine  confession  of  faith  in  the  Saviour 
and  the  next  communion  was  received,  with  his  wife 
and  younger  son,  into  the  Church,  one  of  the  happiest 
Christians  in  his  state.  So  happy  is  he  in  his  new 
relation  to  the  Kingdom  that,  though  a  most  sensi- 
tive man,  his  pastor  is  sure  if  his  eyes  ever  fall  upon 
this  printed  narrative  of  his  experience,  he  will  not 
be  offended,  but  be  glad  in  the  hope  that  the  story 
thus  revealed  will  stimulate  other  pastors  and 
teachers  to  more  faithful  w^ork  in  winning  and 
nurturing  Sabbath  School  scholars  whose  winning 
may  lead  their  families  to  the  Saviour.  This  ex- 
perience has  been  repeated  with  only  slight  varia- 
tions a  score  of  times  in  one  pastor's  ministry.  It 
covered  two  years,  but  how  the  end  justified  the 
patient  and  persistent  effort! 

Methods  That  Have  Proved  Their  Value. 

One  active  pastor  in  the  heart  of  Illinois  added  one 
hundred  and  seven  new  members  to  his  church  in  a 

137 


au5eflfatfe0 


single  year  by  working  along  the  following  lines : 
He  went  into  each  class  in  his  flourishing  Sabbath 
School  and  secured  the  names  and  addresses  of  all 
families  whose  children  were  in  his  school,  but  who 
were  not  members  of  his  church.  He  was  amazed 
to  find  how  many  there  were.  He  began  to  call  upon 
them.  He  found  them  most  responsive  to  his  invi- 
tation. Many  of  them  had  not  come  into  the  Church 
for  want  of  this  very  invitation.  They  were  ready 
and  anxious  to  come.  Others  required  but  a  small 
measure  of  urging.  They  came  so  readily  he  was 
both  surprised  and  ashamed.  He  realized  at  last  that 
while  he  had  been  mourning  because  of  the  small 
number  that  came  into  his  church  in  response  to 
his  public  appeals,  he  had  allowed  this  rich  mine  to 
lie  all  unworked.  It  revealed  a  new  world  to  him. 
His  experience  aroused  others,  until  that  one  pastor's 
application  of  a  new  idea  to  a  very  old  condition 
resulted  in  the  gathering  in  of  thousands.  Here  is 
a  field  well-nigh  unworked  by  the  average  pastor.  It 
is  the  point  of  least  resistance  and  greatest  promise 
in  building  up  a  large  and  aggressive  church. 

A  similar  idea  of  great  fruitfulness  is  for  the  pas- 
tor to  provide  each  teacher  in  his  school  with  a  blank 
form,  preferably  a  card  suitable  for  filing,  on  which 
the  teacher  will  give  him  immediately  the  name  and 
address  of  each  new  scholar  entering  his  class.  In 
addition  to  these  bare  facts,  he  will  give  as  much 
more  as  possible.    How  many  members  in  the  family.'' 

138 


Cf)e  Sabbat!)  @)CbooI 


Have  they  just  come  into  the  community?  Are 
any  of  them,  especially  the  parents,  members  of  the 
Church?  If  so,  of  what  Church?  Would  a  call 
from  the  pastor  probably  be  welcomed?  If  so,  any 
particular  time  more  convenient  than  another? 

The  pastor  of  a  flourishing  school  will  find  from 
one  to  five  of  these  cards  coming  in  every  week.  The 
teacher  had  better  deliver  them  direct,  so  that  any 
personal  word  may  be  added.  Live  pastors  will  make 
it  a  point  to  call  on  these  new  families  within  a  week. 
Dead  ones  will  never  know  of  their  existence !  Noth- 
ing is  easier  than  to  lead  to  full  Church  membership 
parents  who  are  interested  enough  in  their  children 
to  help  them  enter  and  attend  a  live  Sabbath  School. 
The  pastor  who  does  not  do  it  proclaims  his  own  in- 
efficiency. 

It  will  seem  at  once  from  the  foregoing  that  the 
larger  the  school  the  larger  the  normal  constituency 
of  the  church  of  which  it  is  a  part,  and  this  leads 
one  to  urge  upon  all  pastors  and  Church  officers 
that  they  give  much  thought  and  time  to  building  up 
the  membership  of  their  schools.  I  know  the  hue  and 
cry  about  "no  time"  and  "so  many  duties,"  but  to 
neglect  or  refuse  to  help  here  is  to  turn  from  as 
fruitful  a  field  as  confronts  a  servant  of  the  Master. 
It  is  like  turning  the  back  on  diamonds  to  pick  up 
rubies.  Rubies  are  valuable,  but  less  than  half  as 
much  so  as  diamonds. 


159 


aujBiIiatie^ 


A  TMnking  Head  and  Throhhing  Heart. 

Back  of  every  school  there  should  be  a  strong,  ag- 
gressive, executive  force  that  meets  not  less  often 
than  twice  a  month  to  plan  for  its  growth  and  con- 
duct. If  an  evening  cannot  be  given  to  this,  let  the 
luncheon  hour  be  chosen.  Here  will  meet  the  pastor, 
the  superintendent  and  his  assistant,  the  superinten- 
dent of  teachers,  if  he  be  different  from  one  of  these, 
the  superintendents  of  departments,  if  the  school  be 
so  modernized;  not  always  the  same,  but  at  each 
meeting  let  one  or  two  of  the  regular  teachers  also 
be  present.  Current  gossip  is  barred  when  such  a 
gathering  is  set.  Let  time  and  energy  be  given  now 
to  the  matter  in  hand. 

No  outsider  can  give  rules  for  the  building  up  of 
a  particular  school,  but  such  meetings  of  an  executive 
head  will  quickly  solve  the  problem.  Experience 
has,  however,  revealed  certain  factors  that  are  uni- 
versal, without  which  no  school  need  hope  for  large 
growth. 

The  first  of  these  is  that  indefinable  something 
which  nobody  can  see,  but  all  can  instantly  feel,  and 
which  may  be  called  the  spirit  of  the  school.  For 
this  the  superintendent  is  largely  responsible.  He 
must  have  the  spirit  himself  and  he  must  impart  it 
to  his  assistants,  his  teachers,  the  leader  of  the 
music,  and,  in  some  part,  to  the  scholars  themselves. 
A  large  element  in  the  creation  of  this  subtle  spirit 

140 


Cfte  Siafiftatl)  ©cftool 


is  a  genuine,  genial,  warm-hearted  interest  in  every 
life  that  crosses  the  threshold  of  the  school,  whether 
it  be  young  or  old.  No  life  can  withstand  the  draw- 
ing power  of  genuine  interest.  Witness  the  young 
lad  who  walked  from  the  distant  suburbs,  past  a 
score  of  inviting  doors,  to  attend  the  Sabbath  School 
connected  with  Moody's  Church,  Chicago.  Ques- 
tioned by  a  policeman  as  to  why  he  made  the  long 
walk  when  so  many  excellent  schools  were  nearer, 
the  lad  replied,  ^'Because  they  love  a  fellow  up 
there.'*  Every  school  that  has  this  spirit  will  be 
crowded  to  the  doors. 

A  second  vital  element  is  the  type  and  quality  of 
teachers  who  gather  and  preside  over  the  classes. 
In  this  the  pastor  may  vastly  aid  the  superintendent. 
Character  and  equipment  are  both  vital  in  a  really 
valuable  teacher.  A  third  and  hardly  less  important 
element  is  genuine  interest  and  a  willingness  to  do 
the  Lord's  work  necessary  to  gather  and  hold  while 
one  instructs  and  enriches  a  class.  The  busiest  pas- 
tor can  well  afford  to  give  an  hour  some  late  after- 
noon or  early  evening  in  each  week  to  the  instruction 
of  a  group  of  choice  young  men  and  women  whom 
the  superintendent  plans  to  use  as  teachers.  It  is 
general,  rather  than  particular,  instruction  they 
need.  Let  the  pastor  enlarge  their  vision,  let  them 
know  the  importance  and  value  of  personal  work 
even  on  the  most  unpromising  material;  let  him  give 
them  large  glimpses  of  divine  truth,   revealing  the 

141 


Similimitsi 


Master's  plan;  then,  after  a  few  weeks  of  such  in- 
struction, let  the  superintendent  give  them  small 
classes  with  the  appeal  to  gather  in  more  scholars 
and  make  them  large  ones.  Such  a  process  cannot  fail 
to  greatly  raise  both  the  attendance  and  standard  of 
any  school. 

The  appeal  of  Gospel  music  must  not  be  neglected. 
Such  a  fruitful  factor  should  no  more  be  left  to  the 
chance  of  the  moment  than  the  teachers.  The  best 
musicians  the  congregation  affords  should  be  at  the 
instruments.  The  piano  or  organ  may  well  be  sup- 
plemented by  a  few  well-played  horns  and  violins. 
A  leader  should  arrange  and  direct  the  songs  whose 
very  presence  is  a  stimulus  and  benediction.  He 
should  be  a  master  in  the  art  of  getting  every  voice 
to  sing;  or,  if  they  cannot  sing,  as  one  leader  is 
wont  to  put  it,  let  them  make  a  noise  in  harmony 
with  those  who  do!  Three  or  four  ringing  songs 
with  occasionally  one  or  two  voices  to  sing  the 
verses  alone  will  constitute  a  drawing  power  not  to 
be  disregarded.  It  will  also  develop  the  vocal 
ability  of  your  future  Church  members. 

An  Occasional  Membership  Contest. 

While  it  should  be  begun  with  caution  and 
pursued  with  care,  a  special  effort  for  the  gathering 
in  of  new  members  should  occasionally  be  entered 
upon.  The  custom  of  dividing  the  school  into  two 
groups :  the  Reds  and  the  Blues,  or  the  Boys  and  the 

142 


Ciie  ^abbatt)  %tbool 


Girls,  has  been  found  most  practical.  The  reward, 
beyond  the  thanks  and  congratulations  of  pastor  and 
officers  for  having  done  such  excellent  and  important 
work  for  the  Master,  should  be  small;  possibly  the 
best  is  to  have  the  whole  school  entertained  at  supper 
by  the  side  bringing  the  fewest  new  members,  with 
the  winning  side  as  Guests  of  Honor. 

The  difficulty  is  not  in  winning  new  scholars,  but 
in  holding  them,  without  which,  of  course,  the  spe- 
cial effort  is  worse  than  valueless.  To  accomplish 
this  will  require  all  the  skill  and  grace  of  teachers, 
superintendent  and  pastor.  To  quickly  develop  in 
the  new  scholar  such  a  love  for  the  Bible  and  the 
house  of  God,  the  religious  service  and  the  compan- 
ionship of  Christian  people  as  to  lead  him  to  regular 
attendance,  is  a  task  to  tax  the  ingenuity,  patience 
and  grace  of  the  most  favored  workers.  The  secret 
lies  in  making  the  whole  service  attractive  and  in 
keeping  the  individual  classes  small  enough  so  the 
teacher  can  give  much  personal  attention  to  each 
recruit.  Few  drop  out  after  half  a  year  of  attend- 
ance. The  difficulty  comes  the  first  few  weeks  and 
months,  and  during  the  time  no  effort  or  time  must 
be  counted  too  great  or  precious  to  give  to  the  ce- 
menting of  the  new  relation. 

Pastors,  Church  officers.  Christians  who  are  at  all 
interested  in  the  strengthening  and  building  up  of 
the  Church,  give  more  attention  to  the  Sabbath 
School!     Each  new  life  brought  in  means  greater 

i4d 


Zmiliatiz^ 


power  in  the  future  Church ;  it  often  means,  if  rightly 
followed  up,  the  immediate  gathering  in  of  parents, 
older  brothers  and  sisters,  and  sometimes,  friends 
and  neighbors.  The  promise,  "A  little  child  shall 
lead  them"  is  oftener  fulfilled  through  the  Sabbath 
School  than  anywhere  else.  It  is  the  privilege  of 
pastors  and  Church  leaders  to  make  its  fulfilment  a 
possibility  in  every  non-Christian  home.  Interest  in 
the  child  creates  interest  in  the  parent.  Few  fathers 
and  mothers  can  stand  out  against  the  uttered  or 
silent  appeal  of  their  children  that  they  go  with 
them  into  their  Father's  house. 


144 


X. 

MEN'S  CLUBS. 

IN  past  years  the  Church  has  been  shamefully 
guilty  of  allowing  to  lie  dormant  the  forces  that 
were  nearest  at  hand  and  most  powerful.  The 
cry  of  over-organization  has  been  sounding  for  the 
last  half  century;  was  loudest  just  before  the  begin- 
ning of  Men's  Clubs,  the  most  powerful  and  promis- 
ing of  all  religious  organizations  after  the  Church 
itself.  Just  as  men  hold  the  reigns  of  government 
and  commerce,  so  they  may  and  should  hold  the 
reigns  in  ecclesiastical  affairs.  With  all  possible 
appreciation  of  the  good  work  women  have  done 
and  will  do,  it  should  not  be  lost  sight  of  that  Chris- 
tianity was  delivered  to  men,  and  men  were  com- 
manded to  carry  it  into  all  the  world. 

The  prominence  of  women  in  Church  affairs  arose 
undoubtedly  from  their  greater  spirituality  and  de- 
votion, and  their  greater  freedom  to  give  time  and 
thought  to  religion.  Men  are  beginning  to  realize 
that  they  have  lost  more  than  they  have  gained  by 
allowing  the  world  to  absorb  them  and  are  beginning, 
through  the  regular  auxiliaries  and  new  organiza- 
tions, to  come  into  their  own.    When  the  men  of  the 

14.5 


auxiliaries 


Church  are  as  fully  organized  and  as  hard  at  work 
as  the  women,  the  power  of  the  Church  will  be 
quadrupled. 

What  Form  Shall  the  Organization  Take? 

The  most  fruitful  type  of  men's  organization  yet 
discovered  is  the  Club  or  Brotherhood,  especially 
when  a  Bible  Class  is  at  its  heart.  It  does  not  seem 
to  matter  greatly  what  the  form  of  organization  is. 
Two  things  only  seem  essential,  that  it  have  the  de- 
votion to  Bible  study  of  the  Presbyterian  Brother- 
hood, the  enthusiasm  for  personal  work  for  men  of 
the  Brotherhood  of  Andrew  and  Philip.  Of  course, 
there  will  be  more  or  less  social  and  literary  life,  but 
without  the  two  above  mentioned,  no  organization 
of  men  in  the  Church  will  long  retain  even  the  sem- 
blance of  life. 

Methods  That  Win. 

The  only  way  to  permanently  interest  men  in  a 
church  organization  is  to  be  absolutely  open  and 
honest  with  them.  Many  a  church  has  found  to  its 
sorrow  that  if  its  ultimate  object  is  to  win  men  to 
the  Christian  life,  it  is  a  grievous  mistake  to  invite 
them  to  smokers  and  banquets,  giving  out  the  im- 
pression that  the  affair  is  purely  social.  If  men  who 
have  accepted  an  invitation  to  a  church  banquet 
under  the  impression  that  it  is  a  purely  social  affair 
find  that  your  real  and  now  undisguised  purpose  is 

146 


#en'0  Clufig 


to  land  them  in  your  ecclesiastical  creel,  they  will 
not  rise  to  your  next  cast.  The  most  successful 
men's  organization  in  an  Illinois  church  a  few 
years  ago  put  its  purposes  on  every  invitation  card 
thus:  First,  to  study  the  Bible;  second,  to  win  men 
to  the  Christian  life;  third,  to  promote  the  spirit  of 
fellowship  between  all  men. 

Men  love  methods  that  are  manly.  One  had  as 
well  try  to  catch  tarpon  with  a  gaudy  trout  fly  as 
to  "take  alive"  a  really  worthy  man  by  deceit  or 
subterfuge.  A  member  worth  having  or  who  is 
benefited  by  his  coming,  is  one  who  has  considered 
the  whole  matter  carefully,  who  has  come  knowing 
requirements  as  well  as  privileges  and  who  finds  that 
the  Church  is  better  than  represented.  There  is  no 
reason  why  the  social  privileges  and  benefits  of 
Church  membership  should  not  be  emphasized  in  our 
invitations  to  men  to  join  with  us;  but  let  them  be 
given  their  right  place  and  relation.  They  are  not 
first  or  second,  but  really  very  minor  as  compared 
with  the  spiritual  benefits  and  privileges  of  genuine 
Christianity. 

Press  Forward  the  Bible  Class, 

As  a  recruiting  station  for  strong  men  the 
Brotherhood  Bible  Class  cannot  be  surpassed.  A 
few  years  ago  a  pastor  in  a  live  county  seat  town  in 
Illinois  led  his  Brotherhood  in  the  establishment  of 
such  a  class  which  met  in  the  county  court  room 

147 


au5Eiliarie0 


Sabbath  afternoon  at  four  o'clock.  An  average  at- 
tendance of  fifty  men  was  maintained  throughout  the 
winter.  They  studied  the  International  Lessons, 
which  that  year  started  with  the  creation  narrative 
in  Genesis.  Two-thirds  of  the  men  were  Church 
members ;  the  others  were  young  men  about  town, 
careless  or  indifferent  men  of  middle  age  whose 
Christian  friends  persuaded  them  to  try  again  to 
find  in  the  Bible  what  they  found  there;  some  were 
very  old  men.  Before  six  weeks  had  passed  the 
pastor-teacher  began  to  see  that  the  Word  was  hav- 
ing its  customary  effect.  Young  men  said :  "I  never 
understood  this  matter  before,"  and  old  men  con- 
fessed they  had  held  erroneous  ideas.  Invitations  to 
Church  membership  were  given  in  due  time  and  some 
of  the  strongest  young  men  of  the  town  came  freely 
and  gladly.  The  number  coming  was  not  great 
enough  to  cause  surprise,  but  being  the  men  they 
were  did.  The  manhood  of  the  town  was  stirred. 
When  the  cleansing  symbol  was  administered  and 
those  young  men  took  the  vows  of  the  Church,  strong 
men  used  their  handkerchiefs  with  unwonted  violence, 
and  tender  women  frankly  wept  for  joy.  Many  of 
those  thus  coming  are  now  leaders  in  the  Church 
life  of  the  town.  The  effect  of  that  one  Bible  class 
will  remain  for  generations. 

The  Sabbath  Evening  Attendance  Problem  Solved. 
Splendid  fruitage  is  often  obtained  also  by  utiliz- 
ing the  force  of  the  Men's  Organization  in  building 

148 


09en'0  Cluli0 


up  and  maintaining  attendance  upon  the  Sabbath 
services  from  which  new  members  come  in  the  regular 
course  of  Church  work.  A  church  in  the  Western 
States  had  largely  attended  morning  services,  but 
the  evening  service  was  small.  The  pastor  plead  with 
his  Brotherhood,  then  over  one  hundred  strong,  to 
put  itself  under  the  evening  service  and  make  it  go. 
They  agreed.  A  plan  of  cooperation  was  adopted. 
The  pastor  was  to  preach  special  sermons,  each  one 
of  which,  however,  was  to  contain  some  phase  of  the 
Gospel  message;  the  men  were  to  attend,  with  their 
families  and  friends,  together  with  every  associate  or 
acquaintance  they  could  persuade  to  come  with  them. 
An  abundant  supply  of  Gospel  song  books  was  se- 
cured ;  a  large  Brotherhood  chorus  organized  to  sup- 
plement the  regular  choir. 

Attendance  jumped  from  two  hundred  to  six  hun- 
dred the  first  week,  and  was  maintained  at  high  tide 
all  through  the  winter.  Scores  of  lukewarm  mem- 
bers were  aroused,  and  by  persistent  personal  work 
many  new  members  were  gathered.  The  pastor  de- 
veloped the  habit  in  his  men  of  bringing  their  un- 
saved friends  down  to  meet  him  at  the  close  of  the 
service.  He  took  their  name  and  address ;  asked 
if  they  had  a  Church  home ;  started  an  acquaintance 
which  led  to  frank  conversations  and  many  regener- 
ations. 

Nothing  stirs  a  congregation  more  than  to  see 
one  or  two  hundred  strong  men  at  work;  to  see  a 

149 


auxiliaries 


chorus  of  twenty-five  supplementing  the  choir;  to 
see  leading  men  usher  and  receive  the  offering.  Noth- 
ing cheers  them  more  than  to  see  a  Bible  class  for 
men  attended  by  from  fifty  to  three  times  that  num- 
ber; to  see  men  fill  a  pew  at  the  preaching  service 
with  young  men  friends.  Men  respond  to  the  solici- 
tation of  men.  If  all  male  members  would  go  to 
work,  the  churches  would  soon  be  full. 

Recognize  Man*s  Social  Nature, 

While,  as  is  emphasized  above,  we  believe  the  ulti- 
mate object  of  all  such  work  should  be  kept  frankly 
in  the  foreground,  and  men  should  be  made  to  under- 
stand that  you  were  working  for  their  ultimate  salva- 
tion, as  an  introduction  to  it  all,  social  life  may  well 
be  fostered.  Intimate  acquaintance  usually  precedes 
effectual  personal  work.  Laymen  will  render  their 
pastors  and  the  Kingdom  immeasurable  service  if 
they  will  take  every  opportunity  to  further  acquaint- 
ance between  the  minister  and  the  men  in  whose  sal- 
vation they  are  deeply  concerned.  Even  yet  there 
prevails  among  business  men  the  feeling  that  min- 
isters are  a  very  impractical,  unsocial  guild;  that 
they  do  not  and  cannot  understand  the  peculiar  prob- 
lems of  a  business  man's  life;  that  they  are  for  use 
only  on  Sundays,  at  funerals  and  weddings. 

Fortunately  this  is  true  of  very  few  men  now  in 
the  ministry.  A  few  have  not  yet  escaped  the  thrall 
of  mediaeval  ecclesiastical   absurdities,  but  the  ma- 

150 


9@en'0  Cluli0 


jority  have  a  right  generous  measure  of  common- 
sense.  Many  wise  laymen  are  solving  the  problem 
by  bringing  minister  and  business  friend  together  at 
the  luncheon  hour  at  down  town  club  or  restaurant. 
In  smaller  towns  they  meet  at  the  laymen's  board. 
When  a  few  find  out  that  the  minister  is  a  mem  be- 
fore he  is  a  minister,  and  a  good  fellow  whose  ac- 
quaintance is  well  worth  having,  the  welcome  news 
quickly  spreads.  The  remark  becomes  common  "on 
the  curb"  that  the  man  at  the  North  Street  Church 
is  all  right;  a  gentleman  and  a  man  who  believes  in 
his  work.  While  the  new  acquaintances  are  not  ready 
to  give  immediate  assent  to  his  doctrines,  they  believe 
him  sincere  and  begin  to  drop  in  at  his  services. 
Some  day,  by  the  grace  of  God,  he  lets  go  a  shaft 
that  finds  their  hearts.  It  holds  there  and  rankles 
until  they  cry  to  God  for  mercy,  and  when  the  Holy 
Spirit  heals  their  wounds  they  are  saved  men. 

On  a  larger  scale,  social  life  may  also  be  fostered 
by  the  Men's  Club  by  concert,  lecture  or  banquet; 
by  picnic,  athletics  or  Booster  Club.  Do  not  dis- 
guise your  ultimate  object,  but  neither  should  you 
untactfully  press  it  on  every  chance  coming  together. 
'A  club  of  Christian  men  should  stand  for  the  best  in 
everything  they  touch.  If  they  assay  athletics,  let 
their  conduct  be  clean  and  above  reproach ;  if  musical 
or  literary  programme,  the  highest  standards  of  art 
should  be  maintained ;  if  a  banquet,  the  best  food  and 
the  best  service  obtainable.     If  men  find  the  highest 

151 


aunliatie0 


grades  of  these  things  in  their  lodges  and  lower  or 
indifferent  grades  in  the  churches,  the  latter  will 
lose  in  the  contest  with  the  former  so  far  as  the  social 
element  is  a  factor. 

There  can  be  no  question  but  that  great  good  often 
flows  from  a  rightly  conducted  men's  banquet.  We 
hear  of  one  where  some  two  hundred  men  sit  down 
together  every  second  month.  Only  three-fourths 
are  Christian  men,  but  they  are  rapidly  making 
Christians  out  of  the  balance.  Guests  are  placed  at 
table  with  the  tact  and  skill  of  a  housewife. 
Strangers  sit  by  men  whose  acquaintance  and  spirit 
will  do  them  the  most  good.  Service  and  cuisine  are 
unsurpassed.  Music  often  accompanies  the  meal. 
When  it  is  over  there  are  a  few  crisp,  timely  speeches, 
some  of  them  telling  of  the  work  of  the  club  and 
some  breathing  the  Gospel  message.  The  invitation 
to  the  Christian  life  is  never  pressed,  but  always  im- 
plied. Without  question  many  a  start  toward  the 
Christian  life  is  made  in  that  banquet  hall. 

Solving  the  Fincmcial  Problem, 

Another  point  at  which  the  Men's  Organization 
can  do  much,  if  not  most,  is  solving  the  financial 
problem  of  their  local  church.  Most  churches  have 
a  financial  problem  because  the  men  have  never  taken 
hold  of  Church  finances  in  earnest.  In  their  lodges 
and  clubs  they  show  master  hands.  They  could  do 
greater  work  here. 

15« 


99en'0  Clu60 


As  a  primary  element  in  the  procedure  there 
should  be  a  campaign  of  education.  Few  congrega- 
tions know  what  the  real  financial  condition  of  their 
church  is.  Through  long  and  shameful  neglect,  the 
idea  is  accepted  as  one  of  the  seven  facts  of  history : 
that  a  church  must  be  poor  and,  most  of  the  time, 
in  debt.  The  smaller  the  pastor's  salary  the  more 
probable  is  it  that  it  is  slowly  paid.  Because  he 
is  patient  and  gentle  of  speech,  he  is  taken  advantage 
of.  Where  he  is  anything  else,  he  either  gets  his 
salary  or  hunts  a  new  field. 

Now  by  universal  consent  this  is  an  unpardonable 
situation.  Everybody  rails  at  it  and  ends  by  say- 
ing: "But  what  can  we  do?"  Well,  the  men  could 
immediately  change  it  if  they  would.  The  problem 
is  not  unsolvable.  It  requires  mainly  attention,  but 
also  business  sagacity  and  persistent  effort.  After 
resolving  to  correct  the  unhappy  condition,  let  your 
people  know  by  personal  conversation  and  by  printed 
matter  exactly  what  the  situation  is ;  church  debt, 
current  expense  deficiency  and  ever3rthing  else. 
Nothing  is  ever  gained  by  withholding  the  facts  from 
the  people.     They  have  a  right  to  know. 

When  the  situation  is  thoroughly  understood,  the 
solicitation  done  by  the  deacons  or  trustees  may  be 
supplemented  by  further  and  more  complete  solici- 
tation on  the  part  of  a  large  committee  from  the 
men.  No  one  need  be  given  more  than  three  or 
four  families,  and  they  should  be  ones  with  whom 

153 


auiiliatieg 


he  is  on  the  best  of  terms  and  has  most  influence. 
The  subscription  and  weekly  contribution  method 
should  be  urged  for  current  expenses  and  benevolent 
offerings.  Few  families  will  contribute  their  fair 
proportion  if  compelled  to  pay  it  all  at  one  time. 
The  practice  of  regular  contributions  at  public  serv- 
ices should  be  everywhere  encouraged.  This  puts 
the  money  in  the  treasury  as  it  is  needed  and  the 
pastor  will  not  need  to  go  about  in  the  alleys  to 
avoid  irate  creditors.  When  the  men  of  the  Church 
take  hold  of  its  finances  with  the  same  energy  they 
show  in  their  own  business  affairs,  the  perplexing  and 
embarrassing  problem  will  be  solved. 

In  the  Realm  of  Citizenship. 

There  are  certain  problems  in  social  and  political 
life  in  which  the  men  of  the  Church  must  ever  be 
vitally  interested.  While  Church  and  State  have  no 
legal  relation,  being  composed  of  the  same  men,  they 
must  ever  have  a  very  practical  relation.  Men  of 
the  Church  can  never  be  indifferent  to  the  moral 
welfare  of  their  communities.  Whatever  affects  the 
manhood  of  their  vicinities  must  receive  their  atten- 
tion. Committees  on  Christian  Citizenship  will  there- 
fore be  appointed.  They  will  strive  to  prevent  im- 
pure theatres  and  moving  picture  shows  from  allur- 
ing the  young ;  they  will  fight  against  the  open  saloon 
and  pool-room;  against  gambling  and  excessive  in- 
dulgence of  every  kind.     Oftentimes  the  determined 

154 


99ett'0  Clu60 


protest  of  a  few  prominent  men  changes  the  policy 
of  a  whole  city  administration  on  such  matters. 

Two  points  on  which  the  influence  of  men's  clubs 
had  been  brought  to  bear  with  great  force  in  recent 
years  are  Sabbath  Observance  and  the  Saturday  Half 
Holiday.  When  office,  store  and  shop  employees  are 
permitted  to  visit  ball-game  and  park  on  Saturday 
afternoon,  they  can  be  much  more  easily  persuaded 
not  to  visit  them  Sunday  afternoon.  The  wearied 
human  body  cries  out  for  the  open,  for  "God's  out 
of  doors";  and  should  have  it.  Let  the  influence  of 
all  Christian  men  be  on  the  side  of  opening  the  way 
for  this  during  the  week,  and  the  privilege  will  not 
be  long  withheld.  "You  can  have  no  conception  of 
what  that  Saturday  half  holiday  means  to  us,"  re- 
cently said  a  faithful  glove-counter  employee  in  a 
great  Denver  department  store.  "From  eight  o'clock 
until  six  every  week-day  in  the  year  I  never  see  any- 
thing but  the  faces  before  this  counter  and  the  gloves 
with  which  I  work.  Standing  so  long  benumbs  my 
whole  body  so  that  when  the  time  comes  to  start  home 
I  can  hardly  walk.  But  since  the  store  began  giving 
us  part  of  Saturday  it  is  very  diff^erent.  We  get  out 
in  the  parks  or  in  the  mountains  and  see  and  breathe 
enough  to  help  us  all  through  the  week.  Then 
going  to  church  on  Sunday  is  a  pleasure  instead  of  a 
burden  as  it  was  before.  It  really  makes  life  worth 
living." 

The  whole  argument  for  the  value  of  men's  work 
155 


Zmiliatit^ 


in  the  Church  may  be  summed  up  in  the  pregnant 
words  of  the  Secretary  of  the  Presbyterian  National 
Brotherhood :  "Men  do  whatever  else  they  undertake, 
even  to  the  cutting  of  continents  asunder  and  the 
uniting  of  oceans  that  creation  divorced.  What  will 
they  not  be  able  to  do  when  they  seriously  assume 
their  responsibility  for  the  Christian  conquest  of  the 
world?" 


156 


XI. 

WOMEN'S   SOCIETIES. 

WHAT  can  a  mere  man  say  on  the  subject 
of  Women's  Societies  in  the  Church? 
How  unpardonable  that  he  should  lay  his 
profane  hands  on  a  matter  of  such  delicacy!  How- 
useless,  too,  for  has  not  the  last  word  on  the  sub- 
ject been  said  by  charming  and  efficient  sisters  who 
have  a  right  to  speak! 

Granted  all!  This  man  at  least  will  not  attempt 
to  tell  capable  and  consecrated  women  either  what 
they  may  or  what  they  should  do;  they  knew  both 
before  he  was  born.  (Horrors,  no!  not  the  present 
generation;  their  grandmothers!)  But  does  he  dare 
assay  a  compliment? 

What  he  started  to  say  was  that  the  Church  owes 
more  to  the  consecration  and  self-sacrificing  service 
of  her  women  than  to  any  other  earthly  factor,  not 
excepting  the  ministry.  No  labor  has  been  too  hard, 
no  time  or  talent  too  precious,  for  Christian  women 
to  give  to  keeping  churches  open  and  the  torch  of 
divine  truth  aflame.  Last  at  the  cross  and  first  at 
the  open  sepulchre,  women  have  ever  been  the  cham- 
pions of  Christ  and  the  chief  promoters  of  His  King- 

157 


aunliatie0 


dom.  Without  their  zeal  and  consecration,  the 
Church  would  not  be  half  so  far  along  in  its  conquest 
of  the  world. 

Importance  and  Value  of  Women's  Organizations. 

Instead  of  attempting  to  tell  Christian  women  how 
to  organize  or  do  their  work,  it  is  the  purpose  of  this 
chapter  to  arouse  pastors  and  Church  officers  to  the 
value  of  women's  societies  and  to  point  out  a  few 
ways  in  which  their  power  may  be  used  in  making 
more   efficient  the  Church. 

As  a  preliminary  suggestion  therefore  let  it  be 
said  that  every  pastor  should  let  the  women  of  his 
congregation  know  that  he  is  in  the  most  thorough 
and  absolute  sympathy  with  them  in  all  their  efforts 
to  advance  the  Master's  Kingdom.  This  sympathy 
should  be  evidenced  continually  and  in  unmistakable 
ways.  It  will  not  be  possible  for  him  to  attend  all 
the  meetings,  even  if  it  were  desirable  that  he  should. 
He  can,  however,  attend  occasionally;  can  be  ready 
to  counsel  or  advise  when  called  upon,  and,  if  the 
experience  of  one  man  has  been  at  all  normal,  he 
will  find  that  good  suggestions  from  him  will  be 
warmly  received  and  quickly  acted  upon.  Many  a 
pastor  has  found  his  Women's  Societies  not  only  his 
"right  hand  man,"  but  his  left  also,  and  sometimes 
his  head  and  his  heart.  Wise  pastors  therefore  will 
give  thought  and  time  to  the  multiplying  and 
strengthening  of  Women's  Societies  in  their  churches. 

158 


tQDmen'0  S)ocietie0 


A  Case  Demanding  Courage  and  Tact, 

The  experience  of  one  earnest  man  in  a  middle 
western  State  will  have  its  value  for  others.  He  ac- 
cepted the  call  of  a  good-sized  church  whose  reports 
indicated  a  healthy  condition.  Arriving  on  the  field 
he  found  the  preaching  services  poorly  attended ;  the 
spirit  of  fellowship  hardly  discoverable,  and  that  few 
new  members  were  being  received  from  year  to  year. 

Setting  himself  to  the  solution  of  the  problem  he 
first  reached  the  conclusion  that  better  preaching 
and  pastoral  work  on  his  part  were  the  elements 
needed.  With  an  abandon  of  zeal  and  consecration 
he  threw  himself  into  his  work,  but  at  the  end  of  an 
anxious  year  he  saw  no  improvement.  One  ex- 
pedient after  another  was  tried,  and  while  each  gave 
momentary  promise,  as  soon  as  the  first  flush  of  en- 
thusiasm had  worn  away  the  situation  sagged  again 
and  became  more  hopeless  than  before. 

Very  reluctantly  the  pastor  was  forced  to  the  con- 
clusion that  the  women's  organization  of  the  Church 
was  at  fault.  Only  when  he  could  no  longer  doubt 
did  he  confess  the  facts  to  himself,  and  this  is  what 
he  discovered:  The  society  had  been  organized  more 
than  a  quarter  of  a  century  before.  Its  constitu- 
tion and  general  policy  had  been  then  adopted  and 
had  never  been  changed.  The  leaders  now  were 
charter  members  and  all  well-to-do.  The  annual 
membership  fee  was  high  and  must  be  paid  each  year 

159 


auiiUarie0 


before  the  privileges  of  the  society  were  extended. 
In  addition,  certain  social  requirements  and  further 
expenditures  were  demanded  of  every  member.  What 
the  pastor  found  was  that  in  spite  of  the  perfection 
of  this  organization  and  its  splendid  work  in  further- 
ance of  the  Kingdom  in  general,  it  was  a  stumbling- 
block  and  rock  of  offence  in  the  local  church. 

Many  zealous  women  were  kept  out  by  the  high 
dues  and  other  expected  expenditures ;  and  many 
others  who  could  well  pay  the  money  somehow  felt 
they  were  not  wanted.  Every  time  they  ventured 
a  suggestion  touching  change  of  policy,  they  re- 
ceived a  rebuke  they  did  not  soon  forget.  A  kind 
of  "let  newcomers  know  their  place"  attitude  pre- 
vented the  new  life  from  expressing  itself.  Receiving 
this  kind  of  treatment  in  the  Women's  Society,  new 
women  did  not  offer  themselves  for  a  snub  in  the 
public  services.  The  church  got  the  name  of  being 
cold,  and  hence,  while  seemingly  progressing,  it  was 
in  reality  standing  still,  trembling  on  the  brink  of 
retrogression. 

Difficult  as  the  situation  seemed,  the  ingenious 
pastor  found  a  way  out  without  civil  war.  He  sug- 
gested the  organization  of  a  new  society  among 
women  who  had  been  in  the  Church  less  than  jive 
years.  There  were  no  dues,  and  contributions  were 
wholly  voluntary.  While  the  chief  objects  of  the 
new  society  were  Church  Aid  and  Missions,  much 
time  and  thought  were  given  to  social  life  and,  espe- 

160 


iaomen'0  Societies 


cially,  to  calling  and  the  furtherance  of  acquaint- 
ance between  the  church  and  new  residents.  A  new 
spirit  was  evident  at  once.  A  spirit  of  fellowship 
pervaded  the  services.  New  members  multiplied. 
The  old  society  was  unbroken  until  God  in  His 
Providence  took  several  of  the  oldest  members  home 
and  the  remainder  united  with  the  new  society  under 
its  modem  constitution. 

Women  the  Social  Force  of  the  Church. 

All  this  leads  to  the  ready  acknowledgment  that 
women  are  the  social  force  of  the  modem  Church, 
and  the  sooner  this  is  recognized  and  utilized  the 
better  for  the  kingdom.  We  are  social  creatures, 
and  though  we  may  loudly  proclaim  that  our  treat- 
ment at  the  hands  of  others  can  have  no  effect  on 
our  religion,  we  had  as  well  confess  that  it  does 
have  everything  to  do  with  our  Church  life  and  the 
enjoyment  we  receive  from  public  services.  More 
complaint  is  heard  against  women  than  against  men 
to-day  for  not  extending  the  hospitality  of  the 
Church  to  visiting  strangers.  Men  have  awakened 
more  quickly  to  their  duty  and  privilege  in  this 
regard  than  women.  Reception  committees  of  men 
are  large  and  frequently  meet.  Rarely  indeed  is 
there  a  woman  among  them. 

If  women  cannot  overcome  timidity  enough  to 
welcome  strangers  in  the  Church,  let  them  be  the 
more  zealous   in   calling   upon   all,   whose   addresses 

161 


aunliarie0 


can  be  secured,  at  their  homes.  Here,  after  all,  is 
woman's  kingdom,  and  a  genuine  friendship  formed 
here  will  reach  over  into  the  Church. 

And  let  it  be  emphasized  that  it  is  not  "Church 
calls"  that  are  wanted.  Nothing  will  do  more  to 
chill  a  new  resident's  enthusiasm  over  a  delightful 
call  than  to  learn  at  the  first  meeting  of  the  Women's 
Society  that  she  was  one  of  thirty  that  were  dashed 
off  in  an  afternoon,  and  that  she  is  ticketed  and 
tagged  for  a  similar  call  by  an  equally  industrious 
committee  two  weeks  hence.  The  admirable  tact  re- 
vealed by  women  in  purely  social  affairs  may,  with 
infinite  profit,  be  brought  into  play  in  Church  affairs. 

Genuine  Interest  the  Needed  Dynamo. 

Genuine  interest  must  prompt  to  neighborhood 
calls,  or  they  had  better  not  be  made.  Lack  of  gen- 
uine interest,  however,  will  not  excuse  the  indifferent 
from  doing  their  duty.  Our  Master  reminds  us  of 
the  vast  possibilities  in  every  life  and  His  desire 
that  every  living  soul  be  brought  into  the  Father's 
family.  It  is  our  privilege  to  see  in  every  sinning 
man  and  woman  material  for  a  redeemed  saint.  If 
we  lack  genuine  interest  in  strangers  it  would  be  a 
Christian  virtue  to  cultivate  it  and,  having  it,  strive 
with  tact  and  persistence  to  win  them  to  the  Master 
and  His  Church. 

A  small  and  very  judicious  committee  from  the 
Women's  Society  may  well  secure,  at  frequent  inter- 

16^ 


jaomen^0  Societies 


vals,  from  the  pastor,  from  a  similar  committee  in 
the  Men's  Club,  and  from  every  other  source  avail- 
able, a  list  of  new  families  and  individuals  who  have 
moved  into  the  parish.  When  all  the  facts  obtainable 
concerning  a  family  have  been  secured,  the  committee 
is  ready  to  slip  an  intelligent  Card  of  Information 
into  the  hand  of  some  near-by  member,  with  the 
request  that  an  early  call  be  made  and  an  invitation 
to  the  services  of  the  church  extended.  If  there  are 
children  not  yet  in  Sabbath  School,  the  privilege  of 
calling  or  sending  some  one  for  them  before  the  next 
session  should  be  secured.  Eyes  should  be  sharp 
on  Sundays  following,  and  when  the  invited  ones 
appear,  they  should  be  welcomed  and  persuaded  to 
tarry  and  meet  the  pastor  after  the  service,  and 
such  others  as  may  be  near.  Such  calling  has  real 
value.  It  brings  large  returns  and  may  well  be 
fostered  and  encouraged  by  every  pastor. 

Correctors  of  Error;  Scatterers  of  Truth, 

Many  ministers  are  learning  nowadays  that 
Women's  Societies  are  the  best  distributors  of  in- 
formation in  the  world.  And  this  is  said  without 
reference  to  the  time-worn  jest  touching  woman's 
loquacity.  Successful  pastors  have  discovered  the 
value  of  the  right  understanding  of  Church  doctrines, 
for  example;  the  plans  of  the  Church  touching  be- 
nevolences, requirement  for  Church  membership  and  a 
hundred  other  things  that  have  so  larg;e  a  part  in 

163 


Zmiliatit^ 


ecclesiastical  life.  Not  infrequently  they  ask  the 
privilege  of  meeting  the  Society  and  explaining  one 
of  these  things  to  them.  After  the  brief  explana- 
tion, questions  are  answered  and  the  request  made 
that  the  women  tell  what  they  have  learned  to  their 
families  or  neighbors,  who  may  not  know,  or  have 
erroneous  ideas.  One  pastor  took  this  method  for 
correcting  the  widespread  impression  that  his  Church 
believed  in  "infant  damnation."  The  results  were 
most  gratifying,  resulting  in  a  better  feeling  toward 
the  Church  and  many  new  members. 

Woman  as  a  Soul  Winner. 

But  the  highest  work  of  all  which  a  society  of 
Christian  women  may  enter  upon  is  Personal  Evan- 
gelism. It  is  a  fine  thing  to  contribute  money  to 
Home  and  Foreign  Missions,  that  others  may  go 
and  work  for  the  conversion  of  souls ;  it  is  a  finer 
thing  to  do  the  work  yourself.  Is  it  not  tragic  that 
many  a  good  woman  who  has  spent  a  lifetime  in 
furthering  Foreign  Missions  does  not  know  posi- 
tively that  she  ever  led  a  single  soul  to  Christ? 
One  woman  in  the  City  of  Brooklyn  was  seized  with 
this  thought  a  few  months  ago.  It  almost  stifled 
her.  She  said  to  her  heart:  "I  will  not  let  another 
day  pass  without  trying  at  least."  That  evening 
she  invited  an  unsaved  young  girl  to  spend  the  night 
with  her.  Before  they  slept  the  visitor  had  given 
her  heart  to  God.     The  next  night  another  girl  and 

164 


momtn'^  @ocietie0 


the  third  another.  At  end  of  one  week  she  knew 
she  had  helped  seven  women  find  the  Saviour,  and 
she  felt  that  her  life  work  had  really  begun. 

No  power  on  earth  can  be  compared  to  that  of 
consecrated  Christian  women  in  the  work  of  saving 
souls.  Their  own  life  of  purity  and  self-sacrifice; 
the  genuineness  of  their  faith;  the  persuasiveness  of 
voice  and  spirit;  their  greater  freedom  in  talking  of 
religious  things,  all  combine  to  make  the  greatest 
force  in  the  world  for  winning  the  unsaved.  Many 
have  never  realized  their  power  and  some  are  wont 
to  deny  that  they  have  it.  Let  them  begin  to  work 
in  earnest  and  the  truth  will  quickly  be  known. 

A  Notable  Exam'ple. 

When  a  mother  sets  herself  earnestly  to  bring 
about  the  conversion  of  her  growing  children  she 
gloriously  succeeds.  The  mother  of  Phillips  Brooks 
is  a  notable  example.  They  were  members  of  the 
Episcopal  Church  and  her  reverence  for  another 
human  soul  made  her  hesitate  to  enter  its  sacred 
precincts.  As  each  son  approached  years  of  dis- 
cretion she  began  to  pray  more  and  more  earnestly 
that  the  Spirit  of  God  would  lead  his  heart  to  con- 
fess the  Saviour.  To  the  older  sons  already  con- 
firmed, or  to  the  trusty  pages  of  her  personal  jour- 
nal, she  would  utter  her  heart's  cry.  With  reference 
to  the  conversion  of  her  son  George,  which  did  not 
come  until  he  was  twenty-three,  and  after  he  had 

165 


au]eiliane0 


enlisted  as  a  soldier  in  the  Civil  War,  which  awful 
struggle  was  to  claim  his  life,  the  biographer  of 
Phillips  says :  "For  many  years  she  had  prayed  and 
agonized  and  waited  for  this  event.  She  could  not 
know  happiness  until  it  had  been  accomplished.  She 
had  availed  herself  of  every  appeal  that  she  could 
bring  to  bear;  for  years  she  besought  Phillips  in 
her  letters  to  use  his  influence,  but  all  seemed  in 
vain.  She  continued  to  hope,  to  pray,  and  to  strug- 
gle, and  when  after  long  delay  the  consummation 
was  attained,  it  threw  into  the  shadow  of  the  unim- 
portant all  other  events  and  circumstances,  even 
the  sad  parting  when  he  embarked  for  the  war.  She 
could  let  him  go  with  composure,  for  the  one  tran- 
scendent issue  of  life  had  been  met;  he  had  been 
reborn  into  the  spiritual  and  had  become  the  child 
of  God." 

A  glimpse  into  this  great  mother-heart  may  be 
had  from  the  pages  of  her  journal  in  which  she 
wrote : 

"September  28,  1862,  Sunday  evening.  What  a 
happy,  blessed  day  this  has  been  to  me!  My  dear 
George,  for  whom  I  have  prayed  and  longed  and 
agonized  for  so  many  years,  has  to-day  confessed 
his  Saviour  in  Trinity  Church,  at  the  age  of  twenty- 
three  years,  before  he  leaves  for  the  war.  My  de- 
sires and  prayers  have  been  granted.  My  eyes  have 
seen  the  blessed  sight  so  ardently  longed  for.  I  want 
never  to  lose  the  vivid  impression  of  that  beautiful 

166 


iDOomen'0  Societies 


scene.  ...  I  will  never  cease  throughout  Eter- 
nity to  praise  Him  for  this  last  great  mercy,  and 
for  all  the  wonderful  works  He  has  done  in  my 
family.  Four  of  my  dear  children  are  now  safe  in 
His  fold,  and,  oh,  may  the  dear  remaining  ones 
be  speedily  brought  in !  And  for  this,  and  all  this 
goodness,  I  will  praise  His  bles«ed  name  forever 
and  ever." 

In  the  belief  that  the  attitude  of  this  mother 
toward  the  conversion  of  her  children  may  help 
other  mothers  in  determining  what  their  attitude 
should  be,  one  more  entry  from  the  precious  journal 
is  added: 

"October  5,  1862,  Sunday  evening.  'Tis  done, 
the  great  transaction's  done.  O  happy  day!  I 
have  had  the  infinite  joy  of  taking  the  Holy  Sacra- 
ment, side  by  side  with  my  dearest  George.  God 
has  at  last  in  His  own  good  time  answered  my 
prayers  and  accepted  the  offering  of  my  child,  which 
I  have  for  so  long  laid  on  His  altar,  and  I  have 
been  able  to  say  to-day:  Here,  Lord,  am  I  and  the 
child  thou  hast  given  me.  How  great  and  good  God 
is  to  answer  my  prayers  so  wonderfully,  and  to 
make  the  poor  dead  heart  of  my  child  to  seek  his 
blessed  Saviour!  This  blessing  shall  never  grow 
old.  It  shall  always  be  fresh  as  on  this  blessed 
day,  and  I  will  never  forget  to  praise  Him  for  it. 
I  will  begin  now  to  sing  my  eternal  song  of  praise 
on  earth  that  I  hope  to  sing  with  all  my  dear  chil- 

167 


aurilfatfe^ 


dren,    and    the    heavenly    choir,    before    the   throne 
throughout  eternity. 

"And  now  I  will  commit  him  to  the  care  of  his 
Covenant  God,  who  will  never  forsake  His  child  who 
has  fled  to  Him  in  time  of  danger.  May  he  ever 
be  near  him,  shield  him  in  the  day  of  battle,  sur- 
round him  with  His  blessing,  and  bring  him  safe 
through  every  danger,  to  his  dear  home  and  anxious 
friends  again.  And  the  praise  shall  be  His  forever. 
But  if  he  fall  in  battle  or  die  e'er  my  eyes  behold  him 
again,  oh,  may  his  Saviour  grant  him  an  abundant 
entrance  into  His  heavenly  kingdom,  to  dwell  with 
Him  in  glory  forever.  Heavenly  Father,  wilt  Thou 
grant  a  mother's  prayer  for  Thy  dear  Son's  sake.'' 
Amen." 

Do  not  all  readily  confess  that  if  pastors  could 
develop  such  a  longing  in  the  heart  of  all  mothers 
for  the  conversion  of  their  own  children,  the  race 
would  be  quickly  won  to  God?  No  woman  could 
feel  so  toward  her  own  and  not  have  much  the  same 
longing  toward  other  children,  toward  every  un- 
saved friend  and  neighbor.  One  is  much  interested 
in  seeing  in  the  annual  reports  of  Women's  Socie- 
ties, so  many  dollars  given  to  Foreign  Missions,  so 
many  to  Home  Missions,  so  many  socials  held,  so 
many  calls  made.  Would  it  not  be  great,  stirring 
the  heart  to  its  depths,  if  it  would  also  include,  "so 
many  souls  won  to  Christ  by  personal  work".?  It 
will  be  so  when  such  societies  reach  the  ideal. 

168 


XII. 

YOUNG  PEOPLE'S  SOCIETIES. 

STATISTICS  of  the  most  reliable  nature  reveal 
that  fully  seventy-five  per  cent,  of  present 
day  Christians  made  the  confession  of  Christ 
and  came  into  the  Church  between  the  ages  of  twelve 
and  eighteen  years.  The  information  should  assist 
pastors  in  deciding  on  the  field  of  greatest  promise 
and  the  one  in  which  their  greatest  force  should  be 
spent. 

To  say  that  youth  is  the  impressionable  age  is 
to  state  but  half  a  truth.  Youth  is  impressionable, 
but  it  is  also  quick  to  perceive  truth,  merciless  in 
its  rejection  of  error,  responsive  to  everything  that 
is  great,  noble,  inspiring.  Not  even  yet  is  the 
Church  giving  youth  the  place  to  which  it  is  entitled, 
and  she  has  not  begun  to  utilize  its  power. 

The  Church's  Need  of  Youth. 

One  ventures  to  assert  that  no  one  thing  is  needed 
by  the  Church  of  to-day  more  than  the  strength, 
hope,  courage,  and  willingness  to  labor  and  endure 
of  her  young  people.  Youth  is  venturesome;  age 
is  cautious  and  calculating.     These  very  virtues  keep 

169 


auiiliatfeie; 


many  churches  at  a  standstill,  whereas  the  enthusi- 
asm and  daring  spirit  of  youth  would  drive  them 
forward.  Better  make  a  few  mistakes  in  an  honest 
effort  to  redeem  the  world  than  to  sit  still  in  life- 
less, fruitless  perfection.  Michael  Angelo's  statue 
of  Moses  has  never  made  a  mistake,  nor  has  it  ever 
rendered  the  world  a  service.  The  living  Hebrew 
erred  constantly,  but  he  led  a  nation  out  of  bondage 
and  lifted  every  member  nearer  God. 

A  little  wholesome  daring  for  God  is  the  one  thing 
lacking  in  many  a  worthy  but  lifeless  church.  It 
would  come  if  youth  were  given  a  freer  hand,  or, 
better,  if  it  were  encouraged  to  come  forward  and 
take  its  rightful  place.  One  thoroughly  agrees  with 
that  master  of  logic  and  physiology  who  said: 
"Young  men  are  the  backbone  of  the  Church. 
What  we  need  to  do  is,  Develop  that  backbone  and 
bring  it  to  the  frontj^ 

Of  all  classes  to  whom  a  minister  speaks,  he  finds 
young  people  the  most  responsive.  If  a  speaker 
holds  them,  he  need  not  fear  for  the  rest  of  his 
audience.  One  who  has  had  many  university  students 
in  his  audience  declares  that  they  are  a  perfect 
thermometer  on  the  question  of  the  interesting  qual- 
ity and  value  of  the  matter  he  is  delivering.  Let 
him  do  anything  well  and  they  listen  with  ears,  heart 
and  soul.  Let  him  do  poorly  and  they  instantly  show 
their  disapproval  in  no  uncertain  way. 

They  are  prodigious   workers,     Not  being  cum- 

170 


gpung  people's!  Societies 

bered  with  the  world's  cares,  both  their  hands  and 
their  heads  are  free.  Dr.  F.  B.  Meyer  bears  wit- 
ness that  one  of  the  hardest  tasks  he  ever  encoun- 
tered was  to  find  enough  work  to  keep  going  a 
Pastor's  Aid  Committee  appointed  by  one  of  his 
Endeavor  Societies.  They  literally  clambered  at  his 
door  for  work ! 

Youth  the  Age  of  Greatest  Activity, 

A  rather  startling  phrase  was  overheard  recently 
on  the  streets  of  one  of  our  great  cities.  Two 
mature  business  men  were  talking.  One  of  them 
raised  his  voice  to  say:  "When  a  man  has  reached 
thirty-five  he  is  a  has-been.  He  won't  dig  any 
more."  This  out-Oslers  Osier!  Is  the  time  coming 
when  we  will  do  our  best  work  in  our  cribs?  The 
serious  part  of  it  all  is  that  the  world's  work  is  being 
largely  done  to-day  by  young  people,  and  the  Church 
may  well  give  them  harder  tasks.  Let  children  carry 
flowers  and  messages ;  give  young  men  and  women 
some  good  hard  work  to  do. 

Effective  Personal  Evangelists. 

Pastors  who  have  not  tried  it  will  find  that  they 
make  the  very  best  personal  workers.  Not  to  work 
among  older  folks  perhaps,  although  here  they  will 
bear  much  fruit,  but  among  those  of  their  own  age 
and  among  younger  children.  Their  own  innocence 
and  purity  make  a  strong  appeal.     If  they  have  not 

171 


^mlliatits^ 


fought  and  won  many  battles,  their  reputations  are 
free  from  scars  and  those  sought  cannot  rebuke 
them  on  the  ground  that  the  sinner  is  living  about 
as  pure  a  life  as  the  saint. 

Much  is  gained  by  gathering  young  people  of 
fifteen  or  sixteen  and  older  into  a  Personal  Workers' 
Class.  The  pastor  will  be  the  instructor  if  he  is 
alive  to  his  opportunity.  Time?  Take  the  time 
just  as  you  do  to  sleep  and  breathe.  Such  books 
as  H.  Clay  Trumbull's  Individual  Work  for  Indi- 
viduals or  his  son's  abridgment  of  it,  or  Howard 
Agnew  Johnston's  Studies  for  Personal  Workers, 
mentioned  in  an  earlier  chapter,  will  be  found  of 
immense  value.  They  not  only  give  methods,  they 
give  examples,  which  are  of  infinitely  greater  value. 
While  the  studying  is  being  done  the  class  should 
meet  as  often  as  every  fortnight.  In  addition  to 
methods  and  examples  it  will  be  the  privilege  of  the 
pastor  to  implant  a  love  for  human  souls,  a  sense 
of  their  value  and  preciousness  in  the  sight  of  God 
and  the  idea  of  utilizing  every  opportunity  which 
presents  itself  or  can  be  worked  up  to  tactfully 
present  the  claims  of  the  Gospel. 

After  six  or  eight  lessons  the  members  of  the 
class  will  begin  to  feel  their  new  power.  Let  pastors 
remember  it  is  quite  as  important  to  generate  a  love 
for  personal  work  as  it  is  to  teach  a  young  Christian 
how  to  do  it.  This  is  where  the  minister  must  come 
in  strong, 

172 


From  numerous  glorious  experiences  one  pastor 
is  convinced  that,  if  rightly  trained,  young  Chris- 
tians will  get  their  keenest  joy  from  soul  winning. 
He  remembers  encountering  a  young  business  man 
a  few  years  ago  who  stopped  him  on  the  street  to 
say:  "That  young  Matson  of  your  church  is  a 
marvel.  I  met  him  just  a  moment  ago.  His  face 
was  beaming  and  his  eyes  sparkling.  He  looked  like 
I  think  I  should  had  I  just  made  ten  thousand 
dollars.  *Matson,'  I  said,  'you  look  happy.'  With 
glowing  countenance  he  replied:  *I  should  say  I 
am  happy.  I  haven't  felt  so  jubilant  for  months. 
You  know  Sam  Andrews,  lives  out  by  the  Base  Line 
School  House .f^  Well,  I  have  just  been  out  to  see 
him,  and  Sam  and  his  wife,  his  daughter  and  two 
boys  have  agreed  to  come  into  our  church  next 
Sunday  morning.  Ain't  that  great.'*  Once  get  Sam 
started,  we'll  win  that  whole  community.  I'm  going 
after  Nick  Johnson  to-morrow.  Don't  you  want  to 
go  along?'  "  It  is  a  pleasure  to  that  young  man's 
pastor  to  testify  that  his  enthusiasm  and  love  for 
souls  did  more  than  any  other  one  thing  to  cheer 
him  up  and  keep  his  heart  warm  during  a  pastorate 
of  eight  years. 

The  Glory  of  Consecrated  Youth, 

Some  twelve  years  ago,  in  the  City  of  Chicago,  a 
young  man  became  prominent  in  Christian  Endeavor 

173 


ZmiUatit$ 


work.  At  first  president  of  his  local  society  only, 
he  was  soon  at  the  head  of  a  large  district.  He  was 
not  better  educated  than  other  young  men,  had  no 
special  advantages  from  birth  or  relationships,  but 
the  Christian  forces  of  Chicago  were  quick  to  per- 
ceive that  here  was  a  new  force,  and  they  pushed  him 
more  and  more  rapidly  to  the  front.  When  after 
five  or  six  years  of  glorious  Christian  service  a 
sudden  illness  ended  his  earthly  labors,  the  whole 
city  was  in  mourning,  and  even  to-day  the  name  of 
Frank  White  is  reverenced  in  hundreds  of  homes 
made  happier  by  his  service. 

The  secret  of  his  great  life  and  marvellous  success 
may  be  gathered  from  a  remark  he  made  to  the 
writer  concerning  Christian  Endeavor,  shortly  be- 
fore his  death:  "Black,  this  is  the  greatest  work 
in  the  world !  To  lead  young  people  to  the  Saviour ; 
to  see  them  awaken  to  His  greatness  and  power;  to 
watch  them  consecrate  themselves  to  Him ;  to  snatch 
them  from  Satan's  arms  and  give  them  back  to 
Christ !  I  hurry  through  my  work  every  day  that  I 
may  give  the  long  evenings  to  some  troubled  soul  or 
struggling  society.  I  would  not  take  ten  thousand 
dollars  a  year  for  my  right  to  work  for  Jesus." 

Wrong  Standards  Need  Correcting. 

Every  pastor  should  put  into  the  hands  of  his 
young  people,  both  boys  and  girls,  that  marvellous 
book  of  Robert  E.  Speer's,  "Young  Men  Who  Over- 

174 


goung  JPeople'jB!  S>ocietie0 

came."  Here  are  given  the  life  stories  of  a  dozen 
or  fifteen  young  men  that  will  stir  the  most  sluggish 
blood.  They  make  Christian  service  heroic  and  put 
to  shame  the  vanity  and  false  pride  of  the  average 
youth.  No  greater  service  could  be  rendered  the 
young  manhood  and  womanhood  of  any  city  than 
for  the  Christian  young  people  of  the  Church  to 
correct  certain  false  ideas.  At  present  the  notion 
prevails  that  the  highest  achievement  for  youth  is 
to  be  swell,  dead  game,  bizarre.  Young  men  must 
smoke,  bet,  swear,  and,  above  all  things,  never  appear 
without  a  half  dozen  reefs  in  their  trouser  legs. 
Young  women  must  build  out  their  hair  to  three 
times  its  normal  size;  wear  much  jewelry;  go  with 
arms  bare,  no  matter  how  ugly  they  may  be,  and 
wear  very  high-heeled,  Frenchy  shoes. 

"Mabel,"  said  an  anxious  mother  recently  to  one 
of  these  modem  Venuses,  "you  must  wear  your 
rubbers  this  morning.  You  know  you  are  not  well 
and  the  walks  are  very  wet."  "Mamma  Smith," 
replied  the  irresistible,  "you  darling  old  silly,  do 
you  think  I  am  going  to  make  myself  a  fright? 
The  girls  would  simply  die  laughing.  Rubbers  are 
for  the  mud-sills  from  the  Way-back.  .  .  . 
Well,  suppose  I  do  get  pneumonia,  that  would  be 
rather  romantic.  Everybody  would  be  talking  about 
me.  ...  I  don't  care,  I'd  rather  die  than  be 
laughed  at  all  day  by  girls  who  know  how  to  dress." 

A  young  man  in  the  Middle  West,  whose  noble 
175 


aunliarie0 


father  had  died  when  his  boy  was  scarcely  ten  years 
old,  left  school  at  seventeen  and,  taking  a  position  as 
collector  for  a  mercantile  establishment,  started  in 
to  help  his  mother  rear  and  educate  the  rest  of  the 
family.  He  had  united  with  the  Church  at  twelve 
and  for  many  years  had  been  regular  at  Sabbath 
School  and  dutiful  to  his  widowed  mother.  Coming 
in  contact  with  the  working  young  men  of  the  city 
he  soon  grew  to  despise  his  old  way  of  life.  How 
slow  and  pokey  it  had  all  been !  His  first  move  was 
to  visit  the  pool-rooms,  where  a  jolly  lot  of  fellows 
congregated  nightly.  At  first  he  blushed  at  the  lewd 
stories  current  there,  and  the  sneer  at  things  he 
had  always  reverenced,  but  that  soon  passed.  He 
began  to  play  a  little;  had  to,  of  course,  or  be  con- 
sidered a  Rube.  Then  he  began  to  bet  a  little,  just 
enough  to  make  the  game  interesting.  Taking  his 
salary  check  with  him  one  week-end,  he  staked  it 
all  on  a  game  and  lost.  That  night  he  told  his 
mother  he  had  not  been  paid;  his  first  black  lie. 
But  they  came  easy  after  that.  When  his  mother 
noticed  he  did  not  have  the  gold  watch  his  dying 
father  had  given  him,  he  said  he  had  lost  it  while 
playing  ball.  When  other  pieces  of  jewelry  disap- 
peared, he  said  they  had  been  stolen. 

One  Saturday  night  he  came  home  saying  he  was 
not  well  and  had  been  given  a  two  weeks'  lay-off. 
Questioned  about  his  salary,  he  seid  he  had  used  it 
all  paying  for  some  new  clothes.     Sunday  morning  a 

176 


deputy  sheriff  called  with  a  warrant  for  the  boy.  He 
was  fifty  dollars  short  in  his  accounts.  It  developed 
also  that  instead  of  a  two  weeks'  lay-off  he  had  been 
discharged  in  disgrace.  His  trial  brought  out  the 
facts.  On  a  small  salary  he  had  tried  to  enter  "high 
life,"  thinking  that  only  thus  could  he  take  a  place 
among  men.  The  pool-room  had  robbed  him  of 
money,  jewelry  and  even  clothes.  One  night  he  had 
bought  whisky  of  a  prominent  saloon  keeper.  When 
a  Vigilance  Committee  had  the  liquor  dealer  arrested 
for  selling  to  a  minor,  the  misguided  youth  confessed 
that  he  had  bought,  but  to  hush  the  matter  up  and 
save  his  position  agreed  to  pay  the  law-breaker's 
fine.  Not  having  the  money,  he  had  stolen  from  his 
employers,  though  of  course  he  was  soon  going  to 
pay  it  back.  And  so  from  a  position  of  respectabil- 
ity and  honor,  the  young  man  had  gone  down  step  by 
step  while  all  the  time  he  thought  he  was  winning 
an  enviable  place  among  men. 

If  the  young  people  of  our  Churches  would  take 
it  upon  themselves  to  correct  these  false  standards, 
to  prove  by  word  and  by  example  that  the  only 
things  that  will  give  a  youth  a  place  either  in  society 
or  the  business  world  are  truth,  sobriety,  industry 
and  kindliness ;  that  nobility  of  character  goes  far- 
ther than  cigarettes  or  false  hair,  they  would  render 
a  real  service  to  the  kingdom. 


m 


^milintit$ 


The  Willing  Pastor* s  Opportunity, 

These  instances  will  reveal  to  the  willing  pastor, 
that  the  more  he  can  give  himself  to  his  young  people 
the  better.  He  need  not  spend  precious  time  edu- 
cating their  heads ;  the  world  and  the  schools  will 
take  care  of  that;  but  he  does  need  to  help  educate 
their  hearts  both  for  right  living  and  for  Christian 
work.  A  youth  in  whose  heart  is  a  love  for  humanity 
and  a  craving  to  see  men  saved  will  not  follow  the 
false  ideals  of  modern  society.  When  the  heart  is 
full  of  love  for  Christ  and  His  lost  ones,  it  cannot 
be  full  of  selfishness  and  love  of  evil. 

Societies  of  young  people  in  the  Church  may  be 
made,  first  of  all  then,  training  grounds  for  Christian 
workers.  The  future  leaders  of  the  Church  are  here. 
They  need  to  learn  the  Scriptures,  to  learn  to  take 
part  gracefully  and  helpfully  in  public  services;  to 
learn  the  fine  art  of  winningly  extending  the  hos- 
pitality of  the  Church  to  visitors  and  strangers. 
But  the  society  that  goes  no  farther  in  training  its 
workers  will  fall  far  short  of  the  ideal.  In  the  fol- 
lowing paragraphs  additional  fields  are  indicated. 

In  the  young  people's  societies  our  boys  and  girls 
should  be  taught  the  importance  of  supporting  the 
local  church  both  by  attendance  and  by  contribu- 
tion. A  danger  from  auxiliaries  is  that  they  take 
the  place  of  the  Church.  Attendance  upon  their 
meetings  is  held  by  many  to  discharge  one's  religious 

178 


gounff  people'0  Societies? 

duty.  One  pastor  overcame  this  by  getting  his  so- 
ciety interested  in  the  question  of  attendance  at  the 
Sabbath  evening  service.  He  threw  the  responsi- 
bility of  a  good  audience  on  them.  He  emphasized 
the  influence  they  had  on  others.  He  asked  them 
to  organize  a  supplemental  choir  of  twenty-five  to 
fifty  voices  to  help  lead  the  Gospel  singing.  The 
young  men  did  the  ushering  and  received  the  offering. 
The  young  ladies  helped  in  making  every  worshipper 
feel  at  home.  Their  church  soon  became  known  as 
The  Young  People's  Church,  and  its  success  was 
prodigious.  Tied  thus  to  the  welfare  of  the  parent 
organization  while  in  the  young  people's  society, 
these  workers  moved  out  to  other  religious  work  as 
naturally  as  a  bud  becomes  a  rose.  The  future  of 
the  church  was  secure. 

Men  with  a  vision  of  world-wide  redemption  will 
not  neglect  to  train  their  young  people  in  the  grace 
of  giving  to  Missions  and  developing  in  their  hearts 
a  great,  soul-engulfing  love  for  the  unsaved  world. 
From  young  people  must  come  our  missionary  re- 
cruits, and  without  patient  and  careful  instruction 
our  boys  and  girls  will  not  know  enough  about  the 
great  non-Christian  world  to  feel  drawn  to  it  or  to 
consecrate  themselves  to  its  christianization.  The 
time  is  not  far  away  when  the  pastor  who  does  not 
have  a  number  of  missionary  volunteers  and  students 
for  the  ministry  will  feel  that  his  ministry  is  failing. 
On  the  fidelity  of  the  pastor  in  instructing  and  train- 

179 


auxiliaries! 


ing  depends  in  large  measure  the  number  of  workers 
who  volunteer  from  his  field. 

But,  most  of  all,  emphasis  will  be  laid  upon  Per- 
sonal Evangelism,  and  every  effort  will  be  made  to 
develop  youth  and  maiden  alike  into  personal  work- 
ers. If  the  eight  or  ten  million  young  Christians  of 
America  could  be  made  soul  winners,  the  redemption 
of  the  world  would  be  quickly  accomplished.  What 
is  being  done  already  indicates  what  glorious  things 
can  be  done  when  all  are  thoroughly  awakened.  No 
better  conclusion  to  this  chapter  could  be  written 
than  the  inspiring  poem  written  by  Amos  R.  Wells 
on  the  twenty-ninth  birthday  of  Christian  Endeavor, 
the  parent,  and  one  of  the  largest  branches  of  the 
young  people's  movement. 

THE   CHRISTIAN  ENDEAVOR  VINE. 

"The  marvel  of  the  world  of  thought,  of  matter  and  of  deed. 
All  promises  and  potencies  lie  hidden  in  a  seed. 
And  this  of  ours,  in  wintry  soil  laid  prayerfully  away. 
How  has  it  grown  and  spread  abroad  since  that  fair-omened 
day! 

How  deep  its  roots  have  pierced  the  ground,  how  far  its  ten- 
drils run. 

How  broad  the  shadow  of  its  leaves  beneath  the  circling  sun! 

To  north  and  south,  to  east  and  west,  the  glorious  vine  ex- 
tends. 

Around  the  sweep  of  all  the  earth  its  gracious  fruitage  bends; 

Till   China    feels   its   hopefulness,    and   India   owns   the   spell. 

And  all  the  islands  of  the  sea  its  gladsome  praises  tell, 

And  Europe'Si  lordliest  of  lands,  and  Africa's  distant  plains, 

180 


goung  People's!  ©ocietie0 

And  where  the  tropic  splendors  glow  or  Arctic  stillness  reigns, 
By  all  of  Heaven's  sunshine  cheered,  by  all  its  nurture  fed. 
Wherever    men    have   built   their    homes   this   noble   vine    has 
spread. 

The  clusters  of  its  glowing  fruit  are  full  and  fair  and  free. 
And  hanging  low  where  all  the  world  may  haply  taste  and  see; 
And  some  are  prayers,  some  are  words  of  helpful  kindliness. 
And  some  are  deeds  of  loving  hearts  that  quicken,  heal,  and 
bless. 

For  He  who  is  the  living  Vine,  whose  life  in  all  its  veins 
Was  beating  in  the  earlier  days  and  yet  in  strength  remains. 
He  planted  it,  He  nourished  it,  and  He  will  tend  it  still. 
The  flower  of  His  perfect  love,  the  fruitage  of  His  will!" 
From  The  Christian  Endeavor  World. 


181 


XIII. 

OUTSIDE   MISSIONS. 

IT  was  not  the  thought  of  Jesus  that  any  church 
would  be  contented  to  serve  itself  alone.  He 
knew  the  hesitancy  of  the  poor  and  needy  to 
come,  on  their  own  initiative,  into  places  of  promi- 
nence; to  mingle  with  those  whose  education  and 
material  circumstances  enabled  them  to  enjoy  un- 
usual advantages.  By  direct  word  as  well  as  by 
parable  he  told  his  followers  to  go  where  the  masses 
of  the  people  were;  "into  the  byways  and  hedges," 
and  compel  them  to  come  in.  It  was  a  dominating 
principle  with  Him  that  the  fortunate  should  share 
his  good  things  with  the  unfortunate ;  that  the  strong 
should  bear  part  of  the  burden  of  the  weak. 

The  Church  Must  Go  to  the  People, 

This  two-phased  principle  lies  at  the  base  of  all 
city  mission  work;  of  all  Sabbath  School  work  in 
rural  districts  or  wherever  the  local  strength  or 
spirit  is  not  sufficient  to  keep  the  lamp  of  divine 
truth  burning.  No  Christian  dares  to  sit  back  and 
say:  "If  people  want  religious  services,  let  them 
come  to  the  church.     We  keep  it  lighted  and  heated, 

182 


fl)ut0iDe  0@i00tDni5 


with  a  good  preacher  in  the  pulpit.  That  is  all 
that  should  be  asked  of  us." 

The  distressing  truth  is  that  the  very  people  it  is 
our  business  to  save,  the  sinning  and  the  unbelieving, 
do  not  want  religious  services.  They  prefer  to  be 
left  alone,  to  spend  the  Sabbath  day  in  pleasure  and 
feasting ;  to  acknowledge  no  responsibility  to  God ;  to 
live  selfish,  self-indulgent  lives.  The  Master  said  of 
all  these :  "Go  out  and  compel  them  to  come  in  that 
my  house  may  be  full." 

At  the  very  outset  therefore  it  must  be  said: 
Such  Missions  should  be  conducted  for  the  benefits 
they  yield  the  individuals  and  communities  they 
reach.  If  all  the  individuals  who  have  been  led  to 
Christ  in  Mission  Sabbath  Schools  were  brought 
together,  the  one  hundred  greatest  buildings  in  the 
world  could  not  hold  them;  if  all  the  lives  that 
have  been  enriched  by  Bible  knowledge  gained  in 
Mission  Schools  could  be  counted,  their  number  would 
astonish  the  Church;  if  all  the  churches  that  have 
grown  out  of  such  schools  could  be  known,  they 
would  be  found  to  number  fully  one-half  of  all  that 
bless  the  globe. 

Bread  Cast  upon  the  Water  Returns. 

Some  fifteen  years  ago  a  Sabbath  School  was 
started  in  a  rural  community  in  Illinois  by  zealous 
workers  from  an  active  church,  some  seven  miles 
away.     The  community  had  a  bad  name.     Most  of 

183 


aunliatiejB! 


the  families  were  indifferent  to  religion  and  the  men 
they  hired  to  assist  them  on  the  farms  were  drinking, 
carousing  men.  At  first  the  school  had  a  hard  time. 
Few  attended  and  those  who  did  lacked  reverence 
and  respect.  One  winter,  when  the  men  were  idle, 
the  promoters  of  the  Mission  secured  an  able  leader, 
and  held  a  series  of  evangelistic  services.  That 
turned  the  tide.  A  dozen  of  the  best  families  joined 
the  church  and  the  school  began  to  flourish.  Farm 
hands  who  would  not  give  up  their  old  ways  were 
discharged;  families  that  would  not  go  into  the 
church  began  to  give  up  their  farms.  Christian 
men  bought  them.  Before  ten  years  had  passed  the 
character  of  the  community,  as  well  as  its  reputation, 
had  completely  changed;  it  was  observed  at  length 
that  unconverted  men  entering  the  community  soon 
did  one  of  two  things :  they  either  became  Christians 
or  they  moved  away. 

But  this  splendid  record  does  not  complete  the 
story.  Soon  the  well-to-do  farmers  began  to  sell 
their  places  and  move  into  the  near-by  town.  Because 
of  the  reputation  of  the  community.  Christian  men 
bought  their  farms,  and  because  they  were  Christians 
they  at  once  entered  the  city  churches,  and  began 
to  give  them  their  power.  The  quality  of  their 
Christianity  was  superior  to  any  the  city  churches 
possessed.  Their  faith  was  so  simple  and  firm,  their 
devotion  so  absolute,  their  interest  in  the  welfare  of 
others  so  genuine.    The  bread  the  city  had  cast  upon 

184 


a)ut0iDe  9@i00ion0 


the  waters  a  dozen  years  before  had  now  returned  to 
it  a  hundredfold. 

Progress  in  City  Evangelism, 

It  is  universally  admitted  by  the  well-informed, 
not  only  that  the  slums  and  many  of  the  suburbs 
of  great  cities  could  have  no  Protestant  services  if 
Missions  were  not  fostered,  but  that  they  would  soon 
become  intolerable  as  places  of  abode  to  respectable 
people.  Miss  Jane  Addams  and  her  able  co-workers 
are  rapidly  transforming  one  of  the  worst  sections 
of  Chicago  with  Hull  House  and  its  ministrations, 
though  her  services  are  not  religious.  At  Chicago 
Commons,  Professor  Graham  Taylor  is  doing  even 
a  greater  work,  for  while  he  relieves  ignorance  and 
distress,  and  builds  good  citizens,  he  also  opens  the 
gates  of  the  heavenly  city  and  leads  men  back 
to  God. 

For  three  years  the  writer  labored  in  a  Presbyte- 
rian Mission  in  the  extreme  southern  part  of  Chicago, 
in  the  neighborhood  of  steel  mills,  ship-yards,  coal 
docks  and  great  grain  elevators.  Life  there  was 
hard.  Everybody  worked  at  the  severest  kind  of 
physical  labor.  Wages  were  low,  the  cost  of  living 
constantly  increasing.  At  that  time  there  were  no 
playgrounds  or  bathing  places.  The  mills  burned 
oil  for  fuel  and  the  smell  was  nauseating.  The  air 
was  never  free  from  it.  A  cloud  of  smoke  hung  over 
that  section  of  the  city  from  year's  end  to  year's 

185 


^milintit$ 


end.  Half  the  population  were  foreigners,  who 
seemed  perfectly  contented  to  live  in  squalor  and 
filth.  The  families  of  a  few  prosperous  merchants 
and  professional  men  were  huddled  together  on  the 
best  street,  but  they  could  hardly  escape  the  influence 
of  their  environment.  Nothing  was  favorable  to  the 
highest  life.  There  were  no  libraries,  no  art  gal- 
leries, no  lecture  courses  and  comparatively  few 
churches. 

The  amazing  thing  about  it  all  was  that  the  Pres- 
byterian Mission,  in  common  with  several  others  of 
other  denominations,  was  like  the  proverbial  white 
lily  at  the  mouth  of  the  coal  mine.  Every  Sunday 
morning  there  gathered  a  vast  group  of  clean-faced, 
freshly-dressed  children  to  study  the  Bible,  and  an 
equally  attractive  audience  an  hour  later  to  enjoy 
the  sermon.  While  there  was  little  homogeneity, 
each  individual  or  family  standing  well-nigh  alone, 
the  standard  of  Christian  life  was  high,  the  Mission 
Church  an  object  of  deep  interest  and  rare  devotion. 

Watching  the  community  for  ten  years  since  his 
own  work  closed,  the  writer  has  rejoiced  to  see  one 
after  another  of  the  young  people  of  this  Mission 
rise  to  positions  of  prominence  and  influence.  Many 
are  now  the  leading  business  and  professional  men 
of  the  district;  several  have  taken  high  honors  at 
the  University  of  Chicago,  and  are  now  leading 
educators  in  high  schools  and  colleges ;  others  have 
gone  high  as  teachers  in  the  public  schools  of  the 

186 


fl)ut0iDe  0if00fon0 


city,  while  another  is  prominent  in  a  great  business 
college.  Faithful  women  have  kept  the  Mission  alive 
and  scores  have  been  bom  from  above  at  its  various' 
meetings.  Discouraging  as  such  work  seems  at  times, 
the  long  vision  reveals  that  it  is  valuable  beyond 
computation  and  is  doing  its  large  part  in  winning  a 
lost  race  back  to  God. 

The  Strength  That  Comes  From  Serving, 

But  apart  from  all  of  this,  and  even  if  such  rare 
benefits  did  not  accrue,  wise  observers  are  convinced 
that  such  Missions  are  worth  all  they  cost  for  the 
returns  they  yield  the  promoting  church  as  a  train- 
ing place  for  Christian  workers.  There  is  only  one 
way  to  learn  to  do  Christian  work,  and  that  is  to 
do  it;  the  harder  the  circumstances,  the  more  rapid 
the  returns. 

A  small  group  of  Christian  workers  used  to  hold 
street  meetings  Sabbath  afternoons  on  The  Strand, 
a  short  street  of  saloons,  pool-rooms  and  low  board- 
ing houses  facing  the  entrance  to  the  steel  mills  at 
South  Chicago.  We  went  in  a  wagon  for  convenience 
as  well  as  for  safety.  Half  a  dozen  good  singers 
who  were  also  personal  workers  always  accompanied 
the  speaker.  We  would  stop  at  a  promising  point 
and  begin  to  sing.  Out  from  saloons  and  dens  would 
burst  a  turbulent  mass  of  humanity,  men  and  women 
in  various  stages  of  intoxication  or  sobriety.    Second 

187 


aujiHatfe0 


story  windows  would  quickly  fill  with  heads.  A  few 
would  join  in  the  singing,  which  revealed  that  they 
had  learned  the  songs  in  childhood.  Noise  and  con- 
fusion continued  until  the  leader  began  to  speak, 
then  all  were  respectful  and  silent.  They  acted  as 
their  own  police  force;  self-appointed  custodians 
frequently  removing  with  considerable  violence  ob- 
streperous youths  who  would  not  keep  still.  The 
talks  were  always  brief  and  to  the  point.  No  call 
for  oratory  or  rhetoric  here.  Some  phase  of  the 
Gospel  Story  clearly  and  persuasively  told.  A  warm, 
strongly  pressed  invitation  to  accept  the  Saviour's 
cleansing  and  forgiveness,  and  the  service  was  over. 

Whatever  may  have  been  the  benefit  of  those 
meetings  to  those  who  heard  them,  their  value  to  the 
men  and  women  who  conducted  them  can  never  be 
measured.  Many  of  them  learned  for  the  first  time 
the  power  of  the  Gospel  over  human  lives,  no  matter 
how  full  of  sin  and  shame.  Not  one  meeting  was 
held  that  did  not  issue  in  the  coming  out  of  from 
one  to  five  of  those  sin-engulfed  souls.  Young 
women  would  come,  with  hot  tears  staining  their 
soiled  cheeks ;  young  men,  stirred  by  song  or  story 
to  thoughts  of  home  and  innocency,  would  break 
down  in  the  sight  of  all  and,  bewailing  their  condi- 
tion, beg  to  be  helped  back  to  friends  and  respecta- 
bility. Many  would  accept  the  invitation  of  the 
workers  to  attend  their  church  services,  and  there 
make  the  confession.     They  were  convinced  of  the 

188 


©uwiDe  00f00fon0 


truth  of  Christ's  claim:     "And  I,  if  I  be  lifted  up, 
will  draw  all  men  unto  me." 

These  workers  learned  also  how  powerless  to  save 
souls  everything  but  the  atoning  sacrifice  of  Christ 
is;  stories  of  the  beautiful  life  of  the  Christ-man 
fell  on  indifferent  ears.  ^Life  was  not  hard  with 
him  as  it  is  with  us."  Appeals  to  come  out  and  be  a 
man  by  the  exercise  of  their  own  will  power  were 
answered  with  looks  of  despair.  Only  when  we  said : 
"Stop  trying  in  your  own  strength;  cast  yourself 
just  as  you  are  on  Jesus;  confess  your  sins;  tell  him 
you  want  to  begin  again,  to  start  anew,  and  that  you 
will  make  an  honest  effort,"  would  bring  any  results. 
The  most  fruitful  song  of  all  was : 

"Just   as    I    am   without    one   plea, 
But  that  Thy  blood  was  shed  for  me. 
And  that  Thou  bidst  me  come  to  Thee, 
O  Lamb  of  God,   I  come,  I   come. 

Just  as  I  am  and  waiting  not. 

To  rid  my  soul  of  one  dark  blot. 

To  Thee  whose  blood  can  cleanse  each  spot, 

O  Lamb  of  God,  I  come,  I  come." 

My  Word  Shall  Not  Return  unto  Me  Void, 

A  third  important  thing  these  young  Christians 
learned  was  that  if  you  do  personal  work  earnestly 
and  unselfishly,  there  will  always  be  results.  The 
great  lack  in  Christendom  to-day  is  actual  face-to- 
face  work  for  Jesus.     Thousands  will  say  it  must  be 

189 


3u5Bfliatfe« 


done,  and  even  pray  that  it  may  be  done,  to  one 
who  will  really  get  out  and  do  it.  The  thing  that 
surprised  them  was  the  readiness  with  which  sinning 
men  and  women  yield  to  the  Saviour  when  they  are 
earnestly  labored  with.  Few  human  beings  in  normal 
surroundings  but  will  gladly  escape  from  the  quag- 
mire of  sin  if  some  one,  in  whom  they  have  confi- 
dence, will  show  them  the  way. 

And  so  the  place  to  lay  the  emphasis  in  Christian 
work  was  learned  by  those  young  Mission  workers, 
not  in  Theological  Seminary  or  Teacher  Training 
Class,  but  in  an  honest  effort  to  do  a  bit  of  practical 
work  for  the  Master.  The  advice  of  the  writer  is 
that  every  church,  whether  in  city,  town  or  country, 
shall  conduct  one  or  more  Missions  and  that,  where 
circumstances  of  unusual  nature  do  not  forbid,  as 
many  of  the  young  people  of  the  church  as  possible 
be  put  to  work  in  them.  Out  of  these  early  efforts 
will  grow  the  power  to  do  large  things  for  God  in 
years  of  maturity. 

Missions  m  Rural  Communities, 

As  recruiting  stations  for  new  members.  Missions 
conducted  by  town  churches  in  farming  communities 
will  be  found  to  yield  larger  results  than  Missions 
in  cities.  Here  differences  in  circumstances,  educa- 
tion and  social  customs  will  often  make  the  Mission 
convert  feel  ill  at  ease  in  the  Mother  Church.  They 
get  greater  benefit  from  services  conducted  in  their 

190 


©ut0iDe  0@i00ion0 


own  communities,  but  in  rural  communities  adjoining 
smaller  towns  these  conditions  do  not  prevail.  Farm- 
ers and  their  families  in  America  are  often  better 
educated  than  townspeople.  They  are  perfectly  at 
home  in  the  small  town  church. 

Here  is  an  appeal  to  every  pastor  in  churches  that 
are  in  towns  surrounded  by  farming  communities ; 
start  as  many  Sabbath  Schools  in  farming  sections 
where  there  are  none,  as  you  have  workers  to  man. 
This  may  be  only  one,  or  it  may  be  three  or  four. 
Not  only  will  this  develop  your  own  workers,  but  it 
will  give  the  Gospel  to  those  who  otherwise  might 
never  have  it  and  almost  immediately  you  will  begin 
to  gather  in  large  numbers  of  farmer  members  who 
make  the  most  reliable  and  altogether  satisfactory 
Church  men  of  any  class  in  America. 

The  same  results  are  not  accomplished  by  merely 
visiting  them  in  their  homes,  though  this  will  do 
much.  Many  a  small  town  church,  struggling  with 
the  financial  problem  and  lack  of  workers,  would 
save  its  own  life  and  solve  its  problem  if  it  would 
begin  to  obey  the  Great  Commission  with  reference 
to  near-by  regions.  Judea  and  Samaria  were  to  be 
evangelized  as  well  as  the  uttermost  parts  of  the 
earth,  and  the  promise  touching  one  is  just  as  fuU 
as  touching  the  other:  "Lo,  I  am  with  you."  Not 
when  we  sit  idly  by  complaining,  but  when  we  "go" 
has  the  Saviour  promised  to  be  with  us. 

The  Outside  Mission  has,  again  and  again,  proved 
191 


auiiliane0 


to  be  the  salvation  of  the  parent  Church.  Condi- 
tions are  often  discouraging,  but  overcoming  these 
often  makes  giants,  and,  after  all,  the  harvests  are 
glorious.  The  more  men  and  women  we  can  per- 
suade to  study  the  Bible  and  meet  Christ  face  to 
face,  the  more  wandering  children  will  be  brought 
back  to  the  Father's  house.  Pray  ye  therefore  the 
Lord  of  the  harvest  that  He  will  thrust  forth  laborers 
and  see  to  it  that  you  yourself  are  among  them. 


19S 


HO.W:    FOUR    NOTABLE     CHARACTERS 
FOUND   THE    SAVIOUR. 


XIV. 

PETER;    BROUGHT   BY   HIS   BROTHER. 

JESUS  CHRIST,  the  Son  of  God  and  the 
Saviour  of  the  world,  means  to  be  easily 
accessible  to  all  men.  He  is  at  once  the  most 
open  and  ready  of  all  men  who  have  in  any  large 
way  affected  the  course  of  the  world's  events.  No 
armed  guard  stands  before  His  door  and  no  obscur- 
ity clouds  His  simple  utterances.  The  great  of 
earth  may  find  Him,  but  not  more  easily  than  the 
small;  the  rich,  but  not  more  readily  than  the  poor; 
the  intellectual,  but  not  more  freel}"^  than  the  simple 
and  childish-minded.  It  was  of  the  Life  He  came  to 
give  men  He  spoke  when  he  said:  "Ask  and  ye  shall 
receive;  seek  and  ye  shall  find;  knock  and  it  shall 
be  opened  unto  you." 

Notwithstanding  this  ready  accessibility,  men  find 
the  Saviour  in  widely  different  ways.  Birth,  environ- 
ment, education,  temperament,  all  have  an  influence 
and  oftentimes,  and  particularly  in  our  day,  oppor- 
tunity proves  to  be  the  largest  factor. 

Finding  the  Saviour  is  not  like  finding  any  other 
character  or  power.  It  has  its  distinctive  differences. 
Its  effect  is  so  large  and  its   consequences   so  far- 

195 


iI3ota6le  Cftatacterg 


reaching.  If  it  were  the  simple  coming  into  the 
presence  of  a  great  man,  as,  for  example,  the  Presi- 
dent of  the  United  States,  the  procedure  would  be 
much  the  same  in  all  cases.  One  would  find  out 
where  he  was  at  the  moment ;  secure  an  introductory 
letter  from  some  prominent  friend  who  knew  him; 
seek  the  home,  present  the  letter  and,  in  a  moment, 
be  face  to  face  with  the  man  you  were  seeking.  The 
business  for  which  the  interview  was  sought  being 
transacted,  the  incident  would  be  closed,  except  for 
certain  pleasant  memories,  or  temporary  effects  on 
one's  earthly  life. 

But  coming  to  the  Saviour  is  a  far  larger  thing. 
It  involves  the  whole  man  and,  particularly,  that 
part  of  him  not  involved  in  meeting  the  President, 
the  soul,  with  its  vast  outreach  and  Eternal  existence. 
Coming  into  His  pure  presence  also  will  bring  its 
own  rebuke  of  sin,  as  a  sinful  man  is  rebuked  in  the 
presence  of  a  pure  and  innocent  maiden;  it  will 
involve  a  change  in  the  whole  course  of  life,  if  that 
life  has  been  away  from  God,  and  it  will  mean,  not 
the  recognition  of  a  brother  man  by  the  eye  of  flesh, 
but  the  acknowledgment  and  acceptance  of  the  God- 
man  by  the  eye  and  the  heart  of  faith. 

This  thing  of  eternal  consequences  then,  which 
must  be  passed  through  by  each  life  that  is  saved 
for  eternity,  that  will  involve  a  different  experience 
according  to  the  circumstances  and  environment  of 
each  one  coming,  that  must  be  achieved  in  an  indi- 

196 


peter 

vidual  way,  may  well  be  studied  by  us  in  a  few  con- 
crete cases  if,  happily,  we  may  find  some  general 
rules  that  will  open  the  way  to  those  who  have  not 
found  Him  and  suggest  ways  of  service  to  those  who 
wish  to  win  their  unsaved  friends. 

The  Begvrming  of  Personal  Work, 

In  this  first  study  we  are  to  consider  the  conver- 
sion of  Peter,  the  Galilean  fisherman ;  how  did  he  find 
the  Saviour?  It  is  conceded  by  all  that  the  conver- 
sion of  this  man  meant  more  to  the  young  Church 
than  that  of  any  other,  save  Saul  of  Tarsus.  By 
sheer  force  of  character  he  became  the  leader  of  the 
Apostles.  There  was  no  appointment  to  such  an 
office;  it  was  never  even  acknowledged  during  the 
life  of  Jesus,  but,  nevertheless,  he  bulks  so  large  in 
the  recognition  of  Christ  by  the  world  and  the  found- 
ing of  the  Church,  that  his  leadership  must  be  at 
once  confessed. 

Remember  that  before  his  remarkable  meeting  with 
the  young  Rabbi  from  Galilee,  Peter  had  never  been 
heard  of.  He  was  one  of  hundreds  who  gained  a 
scanty  living  by  netting  the  plentiful  fish  from  the 
little  inland  sea  that  holds  for  a  few  hours,  as  if  for 
a  respite  in  its  gentle  embrace,  the  fresh  waters  of 
the  turbulent  River  Jordan.  He  lived  in  a  small  and 
simple  world. 

Added  to  this  he  was  quick-tempered,  emotional, 
headstrong.     He  had  allowed  himself  free  speech  as 

197 


jQotable  Cl)aractet0 


well  as  free  action.  From  later  evidence,  it  may 
be  gathered  that  an  oath  was  often  on  his  lips. 
Like  all  such  natures  he  loved  to  gratify  the  senses, 
and  this  led  him  into  open  and  flagrant  sin.  How 
shall  such  a  nature  find  the  Saviour,  the  meek  and 
lowly,  the  pure  and  sinless  one.''  It  is  clear  he  will 
never  seek  Him  out  himself.  Some  outside  force 
must  lead  him ;  some  friend  that  loves  him  and  knows 
his  possibilities ;  some  lover  of  Jesus  who  sees  the 
impetuous  fisherman,  not  as  he  is  now,  but  trans- 
formed by  the  magic  touch  of  the  God-man. 

It  was  right  at  this  point  that  personal  work  for 
souls  began.  Peter  had  a  brother.  We  do  not  know 
much  about  Andrew,  but  what  we  do  know  puts  him 
at  the  head  of  the  world's  soul-winners.  He  was  a 
native  of  Bethsaida,  the  half  agricultural,  half  fisher 
village  at  the  northeast  corner  of  the  Sea  of  Galilee. 
That  he  was  religious  by  nature  is  evident  from  his 
following  of  John  the  Baptist.  When  this  sturdy 
herald  pointed  out  to  his  followers  the  Lamb  of  God, 
Andrew  left  John  and  followed  Jesus.  In  a  few  days 
or  weeks  he  had  satisfied  himself  that  the  claims  of 
the  young  Jew  were  well  founded,  that  He  was  the 
Christ,  the  Son  of  the  Living  God.  His  first  thought 
was  of  his  emotional,  quick-tempered  brother.  If 
he  could  only  get  him  to  Jesus,  get  his  conscience 
wakened,  get  his  active  mind  working  in  the  right 
direction,  get  his  hot  heart  in  love  with  the  Messiah, 
he  knew  there  would  be  no  limit  to  the  good  he 

198 


^tttt 

could  do.  We  do  not  know  how  long  he  worked 
with  him,  what  tactful  means  he  employed,  what  per- 
suasive appeals  he  made,  what  earnest  prayers  to 
God  for  guidance  and  power.  John's  record  of  the 
event  is  simple  to  the  point  of  terseness :  "One  of 
the  two  which  heard  John  (the  Baptist)  speak,  and 
followed  him,  was  Andrew,  Simon  Peter's  brother. 
He  first  findeth  his  own  brother  Simon,  and  saith  unto 
him,  We  have  found  the  Messiah  which  is,  being 
interpreted,  the  Christ.  And  he  brought  him  to 
Jesus:'     (John  1:  40-42.) 

The  Rich  Fruits  of  Personal  Solicitation. 

Peter  found  the  Saviour  by  being  brought  to  Him 
by  another  who  loved  them  both.  It  was  not  in  a 
revival  meeting,  not  in  a  preaching  service,  not  in 
the  midst  of  excitement  or  excess  of  feeling,  but  in 
a  quiet,  personal  conversation,  perhaps  under  the 
shade  trees  on  the  banks  of  the  Jordan,  that  Peter 
found  his  Lord.  He  probably  never  would  have 
found  Him  but  for  the  good  offices  of  Andrew.  He 
knew  Andrew,  had  confidence  in  his  integrity,  knew 
he  had  no  selfish  motive  in  urging  him  to  the  step, 
felt  sure  that  he  had  investigated  carefully  and  knew 
what  he  was  talking  about.  Such  men  as  Andrew 
can  bring  such  men  as  Peter  to  the  Saviour  every 
time  they  try! 

Through  the  lapse  of  years  this  noble  act  of 
Andrew's   speaks   to    the   followers   of  Jesus   in   the 

199 


il3ota6Ie  Ct)atactet0 


twentieth  century.  There  is  a  note  of  gentle  rebuke 
in  it:  "Why  have  you  not  been  bringing  your 
relatives,  your  friends,  your  business  or  social  ac- 
quaintances to  Jesus  all  the  years  of  your  Christian 
life?"  There  is  a  note  of  entreaty  in  it:  "Will 
you  not  begin  now  to  bring  them  and  keep  it  up 
till  all  are  won?" 

This  act  of  Andrew's  may  be  called  the  keynote 
in  God's  scheme  for  man's  redemption.  He  does  not 
expect  to  accomplish  it  without  the  personal  touch. 
"Go  ye  therefore."  Scores  of  individuals  are  doing 
personal  work  to  win  our  loved  ones  to  evil.  Shall 
we  hesitate  another  moment  to  do  personal  work  to 
win  them  to  the  Saviour? 

Examples  That  Stir  the  Blood. 

An  experience  in  the  life  of  Dwight  L.  Moody, 
the  thing  in  fact  which  swept  him  out  of  the  business 
world  into  the  work  of  the  Christian  ministry,  is 
told  in  a  note  of  autobiography.  Since  his  own 
conversion  he  had  done  all  he  could  to  bring  the 
unsaved  within  hearing  of  the  Gospel,  but,  though 
he  filled  five  pews  in  a  Chicago  church  Sabbath  after 
Sabbath  with  young  men  from  the  streets,  and  though 
he  was  conducting  a  Bible  School  every  Sunday 
afternoon  with  an  attendance  of  over  one  thousand, 
he  never  did  any  personal  work  to  lead  individuals 
to  accept  the  Saviour. 

One  day  a  man  came  to  the  store  in  which  Moody 
200 


Peter 

worked,  in  great  distress  of  body  and  mind.  He 
was  the  teacher  of  a  class  of  young  girls  in  Moody's 
Sunday  School,  and  had  just  been  told  by  a  physi- 
cian that  he  had  but  a  few  weeks  to  live.  He  must 
leave  the  raw  winds  of  Lake  Michigan  and  go  back 
east  where  milder  elements  would  probably  enable 
him  to  live  long  enough  to  get  his  business  affairs 
straightened  up.  He  was  resigned  to  his  own  lot, 
but  he  came  to  tell  Mr.  Moody  that  the  one  thing 
he  could  not  stand  was  the  thought  of  leaving  that 
class  of  young  girls  without  having  led  one  of  them 
to  the  Saviour. 

Mr.  Moody  suggested  that  he  get  a  carriage  and 
go  to  see  them  that  very  afternoon.  He  would  go 
with  him.  They  would  see  if  the  girls  could  not  yet 
be  won.  With  the  marks  of  coming  death  already 
on  the  sick  man's  features,  they  went  that  very  day 
from  house  to  house.  The  eager  teacher  told  each 
girl  of  the  burden  on  his  heart.  Then  he  would 
pray  that  God  would  win  the  hearts  of  his  scholars 
to  Himself.  One  after  another  they  yielded,  and 
before  ten  days  were  passed,  the  whole  class  was  in 
the  fold.  Mr.  Moody  called  them  all  together  for  a 
prayer-meeting.  The  teacher  read  the  Fourteenth 
Chapter  of  St.  John,  and  with  broken  voices  they 
sang  "Blest  Be  the  Tie  that  Binds  Our  Hearts  in 
Christian  Love."  They  knelt  to  pray.  The  teacher 
carried  every  ransomed  heart  to  the  throne  of  God, 
and  before  they  rose  every  girl  had  prayed  for  her 

201 


Botahlt  Cl)aractet0 


teacher.  As  he  went  from  that  informal  prayer- 
meeting,  the  prayer  of  Mr.  Moody's  heart  was :  "Oh, 
God,  let  me  die  rather  than  lose  the  blessing  I  have 
received  to-night." 

For  the  first  time  he  had  seen  the  possibilities  and 
power  of  personal  work  for  Christ.  Before  this  his 
absorbing  ambition  had  been  to  be  a  successful  busi- 
ness man ;  now  the  passion  of  his  heart  was  to  repeat 
the  experience  of  that  Sabbath  School  teacher,  and 
win  the  unsaved  by  personal  appeal.  He  was  con- 
vmced  now  it  could  be  done,  and  he  saw  in  it  the 
secret  of  the  world's  conversion.  He  soon  gave  up 
business  that  he  might  devote  his  whole  time  and 
strength,  his  undivided  heart  and  powers,  to  work 
for  God.  Hear  the  exultant  cry  of  this  hero  of  the 
faith,  a  man  who,  the  commercial  world  says,  might 
have  been  another  Marshall  Field  and  who,  the  mili- 
tary world  says,  might  have  been  another  Ulysses  S. 
Grant;  "Oh,  the  luxury  of  leading  some  one  out  of 
the  darkness  of  this  world  into  the  glorious  light 
and  liberty  of  the  Gospel !" 

How  much  the  Church  of  Christ  owes  to  the  per- 
sonal work  of  its  faithful  Sunday  School  teachers  in 
following  in  Andrew's  footsteps  and  leading  their 
own  scholars  to  the  Saviour,  will  never  be  fully 
known.  Let  it  not  be  forgotten  that  Mr.  Moody 
himself  was  so  won.  Think  of  all  he  has  led  to 
the  Saviour  and  all  that  they  in  turn  have  won,  and 
then  try  to  estimate  the  value  to  Christendom  of  the 

202 


Ipetet 

efforts  of  the  humble  teacher  who  by  a  little  personal 
work  led  the  young  boy  to  the  Saviour!  The  teach- 
er's name  was  Kimball,  Edward  Kimball.  Moody 
was  clerking  in  a  shoe  store  in  Boston  and  attending 
Sabbath  School  in  the  Mount  Vernon  Congregational 
Church.  For  weeks  the  teacher  led  the  young  clerk 
to  a  fuller  knowledge  of  God's  plan  of  salvation,  but, 
realizing  that  this  in  itself  would  never  save  him, 
determined  to  have  a  personal  interview.  In  the  hope 
that  his  experience  may  help  others  who  feel  they 
should  do  the  same  thing,  it  is  given  here  in  his  own 
words,  taken,  with  the  incident  which  follows  it,  from 
the  life  of  D.  L.  Moody  by  his  son.  "I  determined," 
says  Mr.  Kimball,  "to  speak  to  him  about  Christ  and 
about  his  soul,  and  started  down  to  Holton's  shoe 
store.  When  I  was  nearly  there  I  began  to  wonder 
whether  I  ought  to  go  in  just  then  during  business 
hours.  I  thought  that  possibly  my  call  might  em- 
barrass the  boy,  and  that  when  I  went  away  the 
other  clerks  might  ask  who  I  was  and  taunt  him 
with  my  efforts  in  trying  to  make  him  a  good  boy. 
In  the  meantime  I  had  passed  the  store,  and  discover- 
ing this,  I  determined  to  make  a  dash  for  it  and 
have  it  over  at  once.  I  found  Moody  in  the  back 
part  of  the  building  wrapping  up  shoes.  I  went  up 
to  him  at  once,  and  putting  my  hand  on  his  shoulder, 
I  made  what  I  afterwards  felt  was  a  very  weak  plea 
for  Christ.  I  don't  know  just  what  words  I  used, 
nor  could  Mr.   Moody  tell.     I  simply  told  him  of 

203 


il3ota6Ie  Cfiatactersi 


Christ's  love  for  him  and  the  love  Christ  wanted  in 
return.  That  was  all  there  was.  It  seemed  the 
young  man  was  just  ready  for  the  light  that  then 
broke  upon  him,  and  there,  in  the  back  of  that  store 
in  Boston,  he  gave  himself  and  his  life  to  Christ." 

A  most  remarkable  thing  about  this  bit  of  personal 
work  is  that  seventeen  years  later,  when  Mr.  Moody 
was  conducting  a  mission  in  Worcester,  Mass.,  the 
young  son  of  this  same  Edward  Kimball  tarried 
after  one  of  the  services  and  introduced  himself. 

"What!"  said  Mr.  Moody,  "are  you  the  son  of 
Mr.  Edward  Kimball,  of  Boston.?  What  is  your 
name.''" 

"Henry." 

"I  am  glad  to  see  you.  Henry,  are  you  a  Chris- 
tian.?" 

"No,  sir,  I  do  not  think  I  am." 

"How  old  are  you.?" 

"I  am  seventeen." 

"Henry,  when  I  was  just  seventeen,  and  you  were 
a  little  baby  in  the  crib,  your  father  came  to  me  and 
put  his  hand  on  my  shoulder  and  asked  me  to  be  a 
Christian,  and  he  was  the  only  man  that  ever  came 
to  me  and  talked  to  me  because  he  loved  my  soul; 
and  now  I  want  you,  my  boy,  to  be  a  Christian. 
Henry,  don't  you  want  to  be  a  Christian?" 

"Yes,  sir,  I  think  I  do,"  said  the  boy. 

They  sat  down  together,  and  Mr.  Moody  opened 
his  Bible.    The  boy  listened  attentively  to  the  words 


peter 

that  impressed  him  more  and  more,  till  at  length 
they  brought  him  to  where  their  speaker  had  been 
himself  led  so  long  ago. 

Oh,  the  power  of  the  personal  touch!  There  is 
nothing  like  it  in  all  the  world.  Students  may  bring 
their  classmates,  men  may  bring  their  business  asso- 
ciates, women  may  bring  those  of  their  little  social 
circle,  parents  may  bring  their  children.  Dr.  J. 
Wilbur  Chapman  says  if  any  influence  led  him  to 
decide  for  Christ  it  was  the  sweet,  consistent  living 
of  his  mother. 

Rev.  Sam  P.  Jones  gives  the  credit  for  his  conver- 
sion to  his  father.  His  story  is  full  of  tragedy  and 
heartache.  His  own  mother  died  when  he  was  nine 
years  old.  During  the  Civil  War  his  father  was 
away  from  home  and  the  step-mother,  though  a 
worthy  and  faithful  woman,  was  unable  to  restrain 
his  youthful  excesses.  He  contracted  most  of  the 
habits  of  extravagant  young  manhood  and  at  twenty- 
one  "was  physically  and  morally  ruined."  On  his 
father's  return  from  the  war  he  straightened  up 
somewhat  and,  studying  law  for  a  year,  was  admitted 
to  the  bar.  Shortly  after  this  he  married.  Although 
his  law  practice  opened  auspiciously,  with  every 
promise  of  large  future  success,  he  soon  began  to 
drink  again  and  the  bright  prospect  vanished.  His 
poor  wife  suffered  all  the  tortures  known  to  wives 
of  drinking  husbands.  In  spite  of  all  entreaty,  Jones 
went  on  in  his  life  of  dissipation  until  in  August, 

205 


iSotafile  C6atactet0 


1872,  his  father  lay  on  his  death  bed.  Parental 
anxiety  welled  large  in  his  heart  as  he  bade  his  dis- 
solute son  good-by.  He  determined  to  make  one 
more  effort  to  win  him  to  the  Saviour,  and  his  life 
seemed  to  be  prolonged  while  he  did  so.  At  length, 
when  the  life-tide  ebbed  low,  the  contrite  son  prom- 
ised the  dying  father  that  he  would  accept  the 
Saviour,  live  the  remainder  of  his  days  on  earth  a 
Christian,  and  meet  him  in  heaven.  "No  man,"  says 
the  evangelist,  "could  feel  what  I  felt  or  see  what  I 
saw  in  that  death  chamber,  as  father  almost  literally 
shouted  his  way  out  of  this  world,  without  crying 
out  from  the  depths  of  his  heart : 


'I  yield,  I  yield! 

I  can  hold  out  no  more; 

I  sink,  by  dying  love  compelled 

And  own  Thee  Conqueror."* 


Christian  parent.  Christian  neighbor.  Christian 
student.  Christian  business  man.  Christian  minister, 
what  others  have  done  you  can  do.  Human  influence 
continues  a  dominant  factor  in  society.  It  cannot 
be  withstood.  The  moment  we  become  Andrews  in 
our  eagerness  to  bring,  our  friends  will  become 
Peters  in  their  willingness  to  come.  Personal  work 
is  the  keynote  to  progress  m  the  world* s  redemption. 
Write  that  on  the  tablets  of  your  heart  and  respond 
*See  "What  Led  Me  to  Christ,"  edited  by  C.  H.  Gootie. 

we 


peter 

daily  to  its  promptings.  Then,  and  hardly  till  then, 
will  we  have  a  right  to  pray :  "Thy  Kingdom  come, 
Thy  will  be  done,  on  earth  as  it  is  in  heaven." 


«0T 


XV. 

CORNELIUS;  WHILE  LISTENING  TO  A  SERMON. 

IT  is  permitted  men  to  occasionally  speak,  with 
due  humility,  of  the  work  in  which  they  them- 
selves are  engaged.  It  is  permissible  also  for  a 
man  to  set  up  ideals  which  he  himself  is  only  striving 
after  and  which  he  has  small  hopes  of  ever  com- 
pletely attaining.  I  am  taking  advantage  of  that 
permission  when  I  speak  here  of  the  proclamation 
of  Divine  Truth. 

Comparatively  few  ministers  seem  to  be  yet  con- 
scious of  the  fact  that  the  most  powerful  organ  in 
their  hands  to  use  for  the  conversion  of  men  is  the 
sermon.  More  hearts  are  touched  by  a  plain,  grip- 
ping statement  of  the  truth  than  by  all  other  forces 
put  together.  It  must  be  considered  sooner  or  later 
if  the  life  is  to  be  any  force  in  the  religious  world, 
or  is  even  to  remain  true.  An  aroused  conscience 
and  a  penitent  heart  may  carry  a  life  into  the 
Church,  but  there  will  be  small  growth  and  no  prog- 
ress until  he  considers  the  great  fundamental  truths 
of  Christianity,  fights  his  battles  of  doubt  and  un- 
certairty  and  reaches  conclusions  that  all  the  tur- 
moil in  the  world  cannot   shake.     Emotions   pass; 

£08 


Cornelius! 


truth  abides.  Conscience  quiets  down;  an  aroused 
heart  increasingly  lives.  A  settled  belief  is  the  hidden 
anchor  that  holds  the  life-ship  safe  on  the  troubled 
sea  of  human  existence. 

Opinion  is  by  no  means  uniform  on  the  value  of 
the  sermon  in  religious  work.  In  some  of  our  largest 
and  most  powerful  churches  it  is  relegated  to  a 
subordinate  place.  Ritual  and  informal  instruction 
take  its  place.  One  wonders  how  the  custom  ever 
grew  up,  since  there  is  not  the  slightest  New  Testa- 
ment warrant  for  it.  Christ  sent  His  Apostles 
forth  to  preach:  He  Himself  went  about  "preach- 
ing and  teaching  in  their  synagogues,"  and  Paul  com- 
manded Timothy  to  "preach  the  Word :  do  the  work 
of  an  evangelist." 

It  is  openly  conceded  that  the  eras  of  progress  in 
the  Church  have  been  the  eras  when  great  preachers 
appeared.  Savonarola  first  gripped  the  people  of 
Florence  by  his  powerful  sermons  in  St.  Mark's  and 
the  Duomo.  John  Knox  stirred  all  Scotland  by  his 
sermons.  The  Wesleys  and  Whitefield  were  great 
preachers.  Jonathan  Edwards  and  the  Tennants 
stirred  America  by  their  powerful  preaching  of  the 
old  Gospel.  When  a  human  life  takes  the  Truth  of 
God  into  itself;  grasps  its  mighty  significance  and 
bearing  and,  out  of  an  unselfish  desire  to  have  all 
men  profit  by  that  Truth,  gives  it  out  in  formal 
utterance  from  a  Christian  pulpit,  it  must  have  a 
mighty  effect. 

W9 


Botable  Ct)aracter0 


The  second  most  powerful  thing  to  the  personality 
of  God  is  the  personality  of  a  Spirit-filled  man*  All 
other  forces,  however  good  in  themselves,  must  be 
forever  secondary.  An  earnest,  honest  man,  whose 
warm,  unselfish  heart  is  throbbing  with  the  love  of 
God  for  all  men,  who  is  sure  he  knows  the  way  by 
which  wandering  men  can  get  back  to  their  Father, 
have  the  stains  of  sin  washed  away,  and  life  restored 
to  its  highest  possible  estate ;  when  such  a  man  rises 
to  preach  there  are  always  men  who  hear  him  gladly 
and  always  some  who  believe  his  story  and  begin  to 
follow  it. 

A  Seeker  Who  Found  His  Lord, 

In  the  study  before  us  we  have  the  incident  of  the 
first  man  from  the  Gentile  world  who  found  the 
Saviour  through  listening  to  an  earnestly  preached 
sermon. 

Somewhere  between  the  years  A.  D.  30  and  40, 
during  the  days  of  Roman  domination  over  the 
Holy  Lord,  there  was  sent  from  Rome  to  Cassarea, 
the  political  capital  of  Palestine,  a  scion  of  the  an- 
cient and  honorable  family  of  the  Comelii.  He 
came  as  a  military  officer,  being  captain  of  the 
Italian  band,  and  was  from  all  accounts  a  most  re- 
markable man  for  his  age  and  occupation,  and  one 
whose  life,  in  connection  with  its  contact  with 
Christianity,  will  richly  repay  careful  study.     His 

210 


Corneliui^ 


history  is  contained  in  a  single  chapter  of  the  Sacred 
Book  called  "The  Acts  of  Apostles,"  while  with 
characteristic  brevity  his  leading  qualities  are  quite 
fully  given  in  twenty-four  small  words. 

In  this  amazingly  brief  biography  of  a  truly  great 
man,  Luke  the  sacred  historian,  begins  very  logically 
with  the  quality  which  is  a  fertile  garden  for  all 
Christian  virtues :  "H^  was  a  devout  man,'*  A  man 
steady  and  sincere  in  his  life,  earnest  and  thoughtful, 
though  by  no  means  a  hermit  or  an  ascetic;  a  man 
who  had  pleasure  in  his  life,  but  who  took  pleasure 
in  the  best  things,  in  the  highest  and  most  approved 
ways.  A  man  whose  working  motto  was  the  Golden 
Rule ;  not  grasping  and  avaricious,  but  whose  policy 
was  to  let  others  live  while  he  lived  and  to  do  some- 
thing daily  to  gladden  and  brighten  lives  less  for- 
tunate than  his  own.  In  a  word  he  was  a  positive, 
affirmative  and  always-to-be-relied-upon  factor  in  the 
vicinity  in  which  he  lived,  a  help  to  every  man  whose 
life  touched  his. 

You  have  known  such  men  as  Cornelius.  They 
are  not  so  rare  as  we  sometimes  fear.  Every  com- 
munity has  its  quota,  and  the  truer  our  own  life 
is,  the  more  of  them  we  find.  We  make  one  of  our 
greatest  mistakes  to-day  in  roundly  condemning 
many  a  truly  worthy  man  because  of  some  trifling 
characteristic  of  which  we  may  not  approve,  regard- 
less of  a  noble  spirit  that  earnestly  strives  to  save. 

It  is  right  enough  to  ask  of  good  men  that  so  far 
211 


Jl3otabIe  Characters 


as  possible  they  avoid  acquiring  habits  of  life  that 
are  repulsive,  but  it  is  quite  as  reasonable  to  ask  of 
observers  that  they  see  the  mountain  of  a  good  man's 
service  rather  than  the  mole-hill  of  his  objectionable 
eccentricities. 

The  strength  of  Cornelius'  character  is  truly  Her- 
culean when  considered  as  existing  in  the  early  half 
of  the  first  century.  Outside  the  families  of  Israel 
there  were  few  heavenly-minded  men,  and  those  who 
were  so,  at  least  the  great  majority  of  them,  were 
devout  only  so  far  as  their  own  souls  were  con- 
cerned. The  spirit  of  brotherhood,  now  giving  birth 
to  so  much  missionary  activity,  to  so  much  effort 
on  behalf  of  the  sick  and  the  afflicted,  to  the  founding 
of  so  many  schools  and  colleges  for  the  education 
and  equipment  of  those  in  limited  circumstances, 
had  not  taken  possession  of  many  lives.  But  Cor- 
nelius, the  Roman  centurion,  a  man  in  whom  we 
hardly  expect  to  find  it,  had  caught  its  spirit,  and 
so  fully  and  perfectly  that  he  not  only  desired  his 
servants  and  soldiers  to  share  his  religious  life  with 
him,  but  so  embellished  its  principles  by  his  spotless 
and  splendid  life  that  they  desired  to  he  as  he  was, 
to  worship  as  he  worshipped. 

O  lofty  and  rare  accomplishment!  How  quickly 
would  the  religious  problem  of  the  world  be  solved 
if  all  Christians  would  so  adorn  the  doctrines  of 
their  religion,  that  "all  their  household,"  both  ser- 
V£ints  in  the  kitchen  and  servants  in  the  field,  ser- 

212 


Corneliu0 


vants  in  the  office  and  servants  in  the  store,  not  only 
took  notice  of  it  as  they  were  invited  to  share  their 
devotions,  but  who  were  so  moved  by  their  sincerity 
and  strength,  so  convinced  that  their  profession  was 
true,  so  drawn  to  them  and  to  their  religion  by  reason 
of  their  spotless  characters  and  their  faithful  per- 
formance of  all  duties  arising  from  their  profession, 
that  they  were  not  only  drawn  to  them,  but  were  led 
to  adopt  their  religion  as  their  own,  in  the  hope  and 
belief  that  what  it  had  done  for  their  employers  it 
would  surely  do  for  them.  And  yet,  this  is  the 
height  to  which  we,  as  Christians,  should  every  one 
attain. 

"Cornelius  was  a  devout  man,"  says  his  biog- 
rapher, "one  that  feared  God  rdth  all  his  house," 
The  religion  of  Cornelius,  however,  added  to  its  spirit 
of  devotion  a  very  practical  turn.  It  not  only  had 
great  faith  in  God,  but  it  showed  its  faith  by  its 
works;  "he  gave  much  alms  to  the  people,"  The 
missionary  work  of  the  first  half  of  the  initial  cen- 
tury of  the  Christian  era  had  not  progressed  far  be- 
yond the  home  field.  Peter  was  at  work  and  Paul 
was  visiting  the  Churches  adjacent  to  Antioch  in 
Syria  and  had  taken  one  offering  from  the  Gentiles, 
for  the  poor  saints  at  Jerusalem,  but  for  the  most 
part  the  work  of  this  nature  of  which  the  Roman 
world  could  boast  was  done  face  to  face.  The  amount 
of  such  work  was  not  large,  but  the  generous  heart  of 
Cornelius  could  not  see  want  unrelieved,  and  he  gave 

ns 


jl3otable  Cftaracter^ 


much  of  his  substance  that  suffering  might  be 
stopped,  that  hunger  might  be  appeased. 

Saying  nothing  of  the  worthiness  of  those  upon 
whom  he  bestowed  his  munificence,  the  effect  upon 
Cornelius  was  glorious,  enlarging  his  sympathy,  soft- 
ening and  enriching  his  heart,  widening  his  knowl- 
edge of  human  nature,  deepening  and  strengthening 
his  character.  He  found  out  as  fully  as  any  man 
that  ever  lived  the  full  significance  of  the  Saviour's 
words,  "It  is  more  blessed  to  give  than  to  receive." 

The  five  words  concluding  the  terse  setting  forth 
of  the  virtues  of  Cornelius  would  be  considered  by 
most  men  a  fitting  capstone  to  a  devout  and  worthy 
life:  ^^He  prayed  to  God  alwayj*  "What  shall  we 
add,"  says  one  earnest  questioner,  "to  a  life  so 
reverent,  so  trustful,  so  confident  that  God  hears 
and  cares  for  his  children,  that  it  is  in  a  continual 
attitude  of  prayer  before  Him?  And,  indeed,  Cor- 
nelius had  gone  as  far  as  he  could.  The  sacred 
biographer  brings  no  charges  of  shortcoming  against 
his  noble  subject.  He  had  been  an  earnest  seeker 
after  religious  truth,  and  as  he  found  it,  it  became 
a  part  of  his  life  principle,  and  he  was  controlled  by 
it.  One  asks  the  question  with  some  show  of  reason, 
"For  what  would  such  a  man  as  Cornelius  pray?" 
We  must  go  to  the  answer  given  almost  immediately 
to  know  the  content  and  burden  of  this  earnest 
seeker's  prayer.  He  wanted  more  and  clearer  light;, 
he  wanted  assurance  of  forgiveness  of  sin ;  he  wanted 

^14 


Cornelius 


the  fulness  and  freedom  of  holy  living,  which  no 
alms,  no  good  deeds  alone,  can  work  within  us;  he 
wanted  many  doubts  and  difficulties  solved ;  he  wanted 
to  be  closer  to  God,  with  a  consciousness  of  His 
love,  and  presence  and  care ;  he  wanted  to  know  more 
about  the  hfe  to  come."     (Peloubet,  "Notes,"  1897.) 

Can  you  conceive  of  any  soil  more  promising  into 
which  to  sow  new  religious  truth.''  If  the  unsaved 
men  and  women  of  any  city  were  anxious  enough 
about  the  future,  about  their  own  relation  to  their 
Creator,  about  His  purpose  in  them  and  in  the  world, 
to  go  in  the  light  they  have  to  His  throne  in  fervent 
prayer,  they  need  no  longer  remain  in  doubt  or  un- 
certainty. No  prayer  for  light  has  long  remained 
unanswered. 

In  the  case  of  this  noble  Centurion  a  most  remark- 
able answer  was  given  to  his  earnest  life  and  his 
prayer  of  faith.  He  himself  told  Peter  what  it  was 
when  he  had  reached  his  home  in  Caesarea,  after  a 
hasty  trip  from  Joppa,  "Four  days  ago  I  was  keep- 
ing the  ninth  hour  of  prayer  in  my  house,  and  behold 
a  man  stood  before  me,  in  bright  apparel,  and  said, 
'Cornelius,  thy  prayer  is  heard,  and  thine  alms  are 
had  in  remembrance  in  the  sight  of  God.  Send, 
therefore,  to  Joppa,  and  call  unto  thee  Simon,  who 
is  surnamed  Peter ;  he  lodgeth  in  the  house  of  Simon, 
a  tanner  by  the  seaside.'  " 


315 


iSota&Ie  Cbatactet^ 


The  Sermon  that  Broke  the  Jewish  Wall, 

And  Peter  opened  his  mouth  and  said,  "Of  a  truth 
I  perceive  that  God  is  no  respecter  of  persons ;  but 
in  every  nation  he  that  feareth  Him,  and  worketh 
righteousness,  is  acceptable  to  him."  Continuing  his 
wonderful  sermon,  this  fervent  messenger,  himself  a 
recent  convert  to  the  larger  plans  of  God,  preached 
the  Gospel  of  Jesus  to  the  waiting  and  anxious  Cor- 
nelian household.  He  preached  to  them  "Jesus 
Christ,  the  divine  Saviour  from  heaven ;  His  appoint- 
ment by  God,  and  enduement  with  the  Holy  Spirit; 
His  life,  devoted  to  good  works  and  words,  expressive 
of  His  character,  and  of  the  Father  who  sent  Him; 
His  victory  over  the  powers  of  evil;  His  atoning 
death  on  the  cross;  His  resurrection  abundantly 
proved  by  chosen  witnesses,  who  saw  him,  not  far 
away  as  in  a  vision,  but  who  ate  and  drank  with 
him,  touched  him,  and  knew  He  was  the  same  Jesus 
who  died.  The  one  duty  and  privilege  to  believe  on 
Him,  as  the  necessary  condition  of  salvation,  the 
means  by  which  men  are  made  holy  and  fitted  for 
heaven."     (Peloubet,  "Notes,"  1897.) 

These  truths,  so  earnestly  preached  by  the  great 
Apostle,  fell  upon  the  ready  heart  of  Cornelius  and 
his  household  like  a  benediction.  They  could  not 
withstand  them.  With  all  doubts  dissolved,  with 
the  way  made  plain,  with  duty  outlined,  they  yielded 
to  the  Gospel  appeal,  accepted  the   cleansing  and 

216 


CotneHuis; 


sealing  ordinance  of  baptism,  and  were  at  once  en- 
rolled as  members  of  the  young  Church  that  was  to 
do  so  much  for  the  world. 

There  is  then  in  this  Christ-age  something  to  be 
added  to  the  most  perfect  life  that  is  built  upon  a 
purely  human  foundation;  something  that  gives  it 
form  and  substance,  power  and  continuance;  some- 
thing which  satisfies  the  longing  of  the  human  heart 
and  makes  it  rest  content,  confident  that  it  is  a  factor 
in  a  great  plan  of  God.  It  is  the  religion  of  Jesus 
Christ,  without  which  there  is  no  remission  of  sins. 

How  high  have  you  gone,  O  man  of  earthly  origin, 
in  your  struggles  toward  a  perfect  life.'*  The  story 
of  Cornelius  teaches  us  assuredly  this  lesson:  How- 
ever high  we  may  have  gone  by  our  own  power,  how- 
ever devout  and  almsgiving  and  praying  we  may 
have  become,  there  is  something  else,  higher  than  all 
these  lofty  things,  more  significant,  more  vital  as 
regards  eternity  and  the  will  of  God.  It  is  the  full, 
the  ready,  the  open  acceptance  of  Jesus  Christ  as 
the  Son  of  God  and  Saviour  of  the  world. 

Glorious  capstone  of  a  beautiful  building  and  yet, 
if  necessary,  such  is  the  providence  of  God,  it  may 
be  and  most  often  is  also  foundation  on  which  the 
perfect  structure  is  builded;  an  inexhaustible  mine 
from  which  all  desirable  jewels  are  freely  gathered. 

It  was  Paul,  the  preacher,  who  said:  "I  am  not 
ashamed  of  the  Gospel  ol  Christ ;  for  it  is  the  power 
of  God  unto  salvation  to  every  one  that  believeth." 

217 


iQotable  Cftatactet^ 


(Romans,  1:  16.)     Are  you  ashamed  to  preach  the 
Gospel  of  Christ? 

"Jesus,  and  shall  it  ever  be, 
A  mortal  man  ashamed  of  Thee? 
Ashamed  of  Thee  whom  angels  praise. 
Whose   glory  shines   through  endless   days." 

If  you  are  ashamed  of  it,  ashamed  of  its  simplicity 
or  homely  ways,  ashamed  of  its  open  rebuke  of  sin, 
or  its  call  to  open  righteousness,  then  your  place  is 
not  in  the  Christian  ministry.  But  if  you  appreciate 
its  power  to  save  the  most  sin-burdened  lives,  if  you 
believe  it  to  be  the  only  power  of  God  unto  salva- 
tion; if  it  commends  itself  to  you  as  the  solver  of 
society's  evils,  and  the  one  arm  that  can  lift  a  wan- 
dering race  back  to  God,  then  preach  it  with  all  the 
power  of  your  fully  consecrated  life ;  turn  not  to  the 
most  fascinating  subjects  in  literature,  science  or 
philosophy,  but  taking  the  precious  words  from  the 
lips  of  the  Master,  preach  them  so  long  as  God  gives 
you  breath! 


218 


XVI. 

LYDIA;  WHILE  ATTENDING  A  PRAYER-MEETING. 

THE  coming  of  woman  into  Christianity  has 
been  the  greatest  human  factor  in  its  prog- 
ress. With  her  inherent  innocence  and  pur- 
ity, her  warm  and  responsive  heart,  her  larger  faith, 
she  has  clung  to  Christ's  religion  through  evil  report 
and  through  good  and,  as  mother  and  neighbor  and 
friend,  has  ever  been  busy  persuading  others  to  adopt 
it.  True  it  has  done  more  for  her  than,  with  all  her 
devotion,  she  can  ever  do  for  it.  To  be  lifted  out 
of  obscurity  and  semi-bondage,  to  be  given  a  place 
by  man's  side  instead  of  beneath  his  feet,  to  be  made 
an  entity  apart  from  her  relationship  with  man,  and 
to  be  assured  of  an  individual  standing  with  God; 
who  can  measure  or  repay  such  benefits? 

The  wonder,  to  one  who  knows  the  facts,  is  not  to 
see  women  within  the  Church,  but  to  see  any  with- 
out. They  are  not  by  nature  ungrateful.  It  is  the 
disposition  of  woman  to  more  than  repay  any  bene- 
fits received.  Surely  the  women  who  refuse  to  give 
their  lives  and  choicest  service  to  Christ  and  His 
Church  must  be  ignorant  of  what  He  has  done  for 
them.     Its  significance  has  never  laid  hold  on  their 

219 


lOotafile  CtiatactetiBi 


hearts.  If  all  could  take  a  journey  through  non- 
Christian  countries;  see  child-marriage  and  widow- 
hood in  all  their  heathen  horrors,  see  women  as  beasts 
of  burden,  supported  for  their  fertility  alone  and 
valued  only  for  their  power  to  work  and  to  bear 
sons ;  see  them  ignored  in  public  worship  and  granted 
a  soul  only  as  they  are  related  to  some  man;  they 
would  surely  come  home  to  give  their  lives  to  making 
strong  the  Church  and  spreading  abroad  the  Gospel. 
Those  who  have  embraced  Christianity  have  done 
so,  in  the  main,  with  whole  hearts  and  have  begun 
at  once  to  work  for  others.  Rarely  indeed  does  a 
woman  come  into  the  Kingdom  alone.  She  has  many 
ties  binding  her  to  children,  to  relatives,  to  friends, 
and  to  these  she  talks  much  of  her  joy  and  satisfac- 
tion in  the  Christian  life.  She  does  not  hesitate  to 
talk  of  the  tenderer,  more  sacred  things  of  life. 
They  are  meat  and  drink  to  her.  She  longs  to 
throw  around  the  lives  of  those  she  loves  the  strong 
arms  of  the  Christian  faith;  the  helpful,  restraining 
influences  of  the  Saviour.  And  so  it  is  a  common 
thing  for  women  to  come  to  the  pastor  with  children 
or  friends,  encouraging  them  while  they  knock  for 
entrance  at  the  doors  of  the  Church.  Without  this 
aid  and  solicitude  on  the  part  of  woman  the  Church 
would  never  have  attained  one-half  the  strength  she 
glories  in  to-day. 


leao 


Europe* 8  First  Convert  a  Woman, 

In  this  chapter  we  are  to  study  ihe  conversion  of 
the  spiritual  progenitor  of  all  the  Christians  of 
Europe  and  America,  Lydia,  a  woman  of  Thyatira, 
a  seller  of  purple  vests.  At  the  time  of  her  conver- 
sion this  unusual  woman  was  in  business  in  Philippi, 
had  a  home  there  and  was  undoubtedly  prospering. 
Paul  and  Silas,  on  the  second  great  missionary  jour- 
ney, had  been  moved,  by  special  call,  to  go  over  into 
Macedonia.  Philippi  can  hardly  be  said  to  have 
welcomed  them  with  outstretched  arms.  The  few 
Jews  had  no  synagogue,  but  every  Sabbath  they  held 
a  prayer-meeting  outside  the  city,  on  the  river  bank, 
and  on  this  prayer-meeting,  Lydia,  a  proselyte  "who 
worshipped  God"  was  wont  to  attend. 

It  was  most  natural  that  Paul  and  Silas,  hearing 
about  this  weekly  prayer-meeting,  should  be  moved 
to  attend  it.  To  them  prayer  was  the  Christian's 
daily  bread.  They  knew  that  only  in  prayer  could 
they  lay  hold  on  God;  that  only  in  prayer  could 
they  feel  such  relation  with  Him  as  would  help  them 
in  their  work  for  men.  They  did  not  underestimate 
the  value  of  work,  as  is  everywhere  evident  in  their 
history,  but  neither  did  they  underestimate  prayer, 
the  Christian's  vital  breath.  Within  a  few  hours  from 
some  one  of  these  public  meetings  they  were  praying 
and  praising  God  from  the  inner  recesses  of  a  loath- 
some Philippian  prison.     Fortunate  or  unfortunate, 

221 


iQotalile  Cftatactets; 


sick  or  well,  they  must  pray,  and  thereby  link  them- 
selves anew  with  God. 

One  can  well  believe  it  was  not  the  river  on  whose 
banks  they  met  that  kept  that  prayer-meeting  from 
being  dry !  All  the  vitality  of  the  great  missionary's 
life  would  be  thrown  into  it.  In  his  fervid  appeals 
he  would  seem  to  carry  the  whole  needy  world  up  to 
the  throne  of  God.  All  hearts  were  touched,  and 
Lydia's  so  profoundly  as  to  move  her  to  an  open 
acceptance  of  the  Saviour  and  the  dedication  of  all 
that  she  had  to  His  service.  Lydia  fotmd  the  Saviour 
in  a  prayer-meeting.  The  service  is  still  common  in 
the  Church,  but  in  most  communities  has  lost  its 
power.  Can  that  power  be  recovered?  This  and 
other  kindred  subjects  may  well  occupy  our  minds 
as  we  pursue  the  story. 

Christianity  Calls  to  Prayer, 

The  Christian  religion  being  so  largely  spiritual, 
and  spiritual  experience  being  so  essential  to  growth 
and  development  therein,  it  would  be  natural  to  sup- 
pose that  the  prayer-meeting  would  be  the  most 
largely  attended  and  the  most  highly  esteemed  of  all 
the  services  of  the  Church.  Here  the  people  would 
throng;  here  they  would  take  most  fervent  part; 
from  this  service  they  would  the  most  reluctantly 
depart.  To  point  out  that  this  is  not  so  is  to  call 
attention  to  the  element  of  greatest  weakness  in  our 
work  of  Christian  culture. 


JLpDia 

A  certain  measure  of  formality  can  hardly  be 
avoided,  if  it  were  desired,  in  the  services  of  the 
Sabbath  day ;  it  seems  to  be  entirely  in  keeping  with 
the  spirit  of  awe  and  reverence  that  is  at  the  heart 
of  all  true  worship.  The  service  must  be  largely  in 
the  hands  of  the  minister  who  will  take  advantage 
of  the  presence  of  many  people  and  their  freedom 
from  week-day  duties  to  declare  the  Evangel  and  to 
expound  the  Scriptures.  The  freedom  of  an  informal 
week-day  service  is  impossible.  Even  if  it  were,  it 
is  a  long  time  from  Sabbath  to  Sabbath  for  hearts 
that  truly  love  the  Lord.  There  is  surely  a  loud 
call  for  a  service  of  a  different  nature  somewhere 
between  Sabbaths,  and  by  common  consent  the 
prayer-meeting  should  be  that  service. 

It  is  with  keen  regret  one  notes  the  neglect  that 
has  been  shown  this  midweek  opportunity  by  the 
masses  of  our  Christian  people.  Victims  of  an  In- 
dian famine  have  never  yet  neglected  the  opportunity 
to  take  food  when  it  came  to  them,  but  souls  leaner 
than  their  emaciated  bodies  will  pass  by  the  door  of 
a  prayer-meeting  to  attend  the  theatre  or  a  motion 
picture  show.  Let  us  confess  that  the  fault  may  not 
all  be  with  the  people.  The  minister  usually  deter- 
mines the  nature  of  the  service  and  some  very  good 
men  conduct  prayer-meetings  it  would  require  an 
Amazon  to  moisten !  Surely  the  plan  of  conducting 
a  prayer-meeting,  followed  by  our  grandfathers  of 
the  tenth  remove,  is  not  so  valuable  that  it  must  be 

22S 


jl3ota6le  Cbaractet^ 


retained  while  everything  else  they  did  has  long  since 
been  abandoned.  A  Christian  experience,  for  ex- 
ample, is  valuable  the  first  or  second  time  it  is  heard, 
but  when  one  has,  as  the  leading  prospect  of  a  coming 
meeting,  the  hearing  of  the  same  experiences  he  has 
heard  for  a  decade,  he  may  be  pardoned  for  not 
being  feverishly  anxious  to  attend.  One  rejoices 
also  in  the  prayers  of  the  saints,  but  one  modern 
has,  as  a  boyhood  memory,  a  prayer  made  every 
week  by  a  self-esteemed  Church  officer,  of  a  very  sel- 
fish and  otherwise  questionable  nature,  that  was 
drawled  in  such  a  nasal  twang,  was  so  full  of  inap- 
propriate words  and  wretched  grammar,  as  to  rob 
the  prayer-meeting  memory  of  half  its  sweetness. 
He  does  not  remember  one  bright  or  attractive  thing 
that  ever  occurred  in  the  service.  He  went  because 
his  saintly  mother  said  it  was  his  duty  to  go. 

No  Sm  to  Make  Prayer-Meetmg  Attractive. 

Can  any  good  reason  be  advanced  why  a  mid-week 
prayer  service  should  not  be  bright,  interesting  and 
attractive?  Any  reason  why  it  should  not  partake 
of  the  modern  spirit  of  light  and  life?  Any  reason 
why  it  should  not  provide  the  people  with  new 
ideas  and  plans  instead  of  sending  them  home  bur- 
dened with  a  sense  of  its  insufferable  dulness?  We 
hear  a  good  deal  of  pious  cant  among  a  certain 
type  of  ministers  about  not  taking  the  prayer-meet- 
ing away  from  the  people.     The  truth  is  that  when 

^24 


ILpDia 

not  more  than  two  or  three  per  cent,  of  a  church's 
membership  ever  think  of  attending,  the  people  have 
gone  away  from  the  prayer-meeting.  They  must  be 
won  back  to  it;  the  prayer-meeting  must  be  made 
so  attractive  they  will  want  to  attend  it. 

Without  in  any  way  denying  the  people  an  oppor- 
tunity to  take  part,  the  minister  can  so  throw  him- 
self into  the  service  as  to  make  it  bright,  interesting 
and  full  of  helpfulness.  It  is  the  profound  con- 
viction of  many  observers  that  the  modem  prayer- 
meeting  is  failing  because  the  minister  slights  it. 
The  pastor  of  a  large  but  not  over-active  church, 
after  a  self-indulgent  afternoon  with  old  college 
friends,  was  heard  to  remark  at  half  past  ^\e  o'clock : 
"You  really  must  excuse  me  now;  this  is  prayer- 
meeting  evening  and  I  must  have  half  an  hour  to 
prepare  for  it."  No  one  was  surprised  when,  at 
the  meeting  following,  only  a  dozen  or  so  of  the 
saints  were  present;  that  the  pastor  said  not  one 
bright  or  helpful  thing  throughout  the  service ;  that 
when  he  saw  the  meeting  was  being  a  dismal  failure, 
he  got  up  and  made  a  very  flatulent,  platitudinous 
exposition  of  a  passage  of  Scripture  of  whose  rich 
teachings  he  seemed  entirely  ignorant;  or  that  at 
the  end  of  the  failure  he  lied,  saying  he  had  been  so 
busy  with  pastoral  duties  during  the  week  he  had 
not  had  time  to  prepare.  So  long  as  pastors  take 
that  attitude  toward  their  prayer-meeting,  it  will  be 
a  failure  and  bear  no  fruit.     Worse  than  that,  it  is 

SS5 


iSotable  Cftaracterisi 


a  hindrance,  for  when  the  unsaved  of  a  community 
hear  of  such  a  prayer-meeting,  they  feel  there  is 
little  or  nothing  in  the  Christianity  which  puts  such 
a  slight  upon  prayer. 

The  Prayer-Meeting  Should  Promote  Fellowship, 

The  church  does  not  exist  that  does  not  need  more 
of  the  spirit  of  fellowship  among  its  people.  While 
his  own  spirit  will  do  much,  the  minister  can  not 
promote  this  to  any  great  extent  at  the  preaching 
services.  The  prayer-meeting  is  his  opportunity.  It 
may  well  be  called:  The  Mid- Week  Social  Service 
for  Prayer  and  Bible  Study.  The  minister  should 
give  all  his  study  time  the  day  on  which  it  is  held 
to  preparation.  It  is  not  particularly  stimulat- 
ing or  encouraging  to  a  people  to  see  the  leader 
frantically  hunting  for  hymns,  as  we  have  seen 
some  pastors  do,  after  the  service  has  begun, 
while  they  are  singing  one,  or  while  some  member 
is  praying.  The  spirited  singing  of  half  a  dozen 
Gospel  hymns  (at  least  half  of  these  should  have 
been  written  within  the  last  one  hundred  years!) 
will  often  put  the  people  in  just  the  frame  of  mind 
the  pastor  needs  to  make  a  lasting  impression  with 
his  message.  Before  the  Scripture  lesson  and  exposi- 
tion let  some  sweet  soprano  voice  sing  a  Gospel 
story.  The  accompanying  instrument  should  be 
played  by  the  best  musician  the  congregation 
affords. 

226 


The  music  itself  will  do  much  to  warm  hearts  and 
quicken  brains,  but  five  or  ten  minutes  before  the 
service  closes  the  minister  should  announce  that  be- 
fore the  benediction  and  as  a  part  of  the  service  a 
few  moments  would  be  given  to  social  intercourse. 
He  should  ask  the  people  to  rise  and  greet  their 
nearest  neighbors  and  then  move  freely  about  the 
room  speaking  to  strangers  and  introducing  them 
to  other  members.  No  person  should  ever  be  allowed 
to  go  from  a  prayer-meeting  burdened  with  lone- 
someness  or  with  a  feeling  that  the  Church  of  Christ 
is  cold  and  selfish.  When  the  period  is  up,  let  the 
organ  sound  the  key-note  of  a  familiar  hymn  in 
which  the  people,  pausing  where  they  chance  to  be 
and  still  standing,  will  join,  before  the  benediction. 
When  this  is  pronounced,  the  social  intercourse  will 
continue  and  all  will  go  home  stimulated  and  happy. 
A  stranger  or  new  resident  in  the  community  drop- 
ing  into  such  a  prayer-meeting  will  feel  acquainted 
from  that  time  on.  He  will  feel  that  the  people  of 
the  church  are  warm-hearted,  and,  it  is  worthy  of 
note,  there  will  always  be  enough  people  at  such  a 
service  to  take  the  chill  off,  and  make  the  visitor 
know  the  church  is  alive.  This  plan,  mentioned  in 
the  chapter  on  The  Spirit  of  Evangelism,  is  elabo- 
rated here  and  its  adoption  urged  because  of  the 
large  returns  it  has  yielded  in  the  writer's  ministry. 


227 


il3ota6Ie  Cftatacter^ 


The  Pastor's  Address. 

How  much  time  a  pastor  should  use  in  a  prayer- 
meeting  and  what  he  should  do  during  the  time  has 
long  been  a  matter  of  dispute.  This  may  be  set 
down  as  vital:  Whatever  he  does  should  be  the 
very  best  of  which  he  is  capable.  It  is  not  a  time  for 
rambling,  extemporaneous  speech.  The  people  need 
most  of  all  the  Bread  of  Life,  and  the  minister  may 
well  take  time  to  break  it  to  them.  The  most  helpful 
and  fruit-bearing  plan  seems  to  be  to  take  a  short 
passage  from  the  Gospel  Story  and,  leaving  the  obvi- 
ous things  for  the  people's  own  quick  minds,  present 
some  of  the  richness  that  has  been  found  only  by 
hard  study.  What  new  phases  does  the  original  lan- 
guage present?  What  helpful  messages  grow  out  of 
a  consideration  of  the  historical  situation  or  con- 
nections? At  what  points  does  the  passage  under 
consideration  impinge  on  modem  life  and  its 
problems  ? 

Sometimes  it  may  be  best  to  raise  questions  and 
leave  them  for  the  people  to  answer.  If  they  are 
slow  in  starting,  a  few  questions  tactfully  put  to  a 
safe  man  or  woman  may  quicken  things.  Nothing 
ever  interests  people  more  than  a  frank  and  easy  dis- 
cussion of  the  problems  of  human  life.  How  to  meet 
the  problems  of  childhood;  how  to  be  neighbor  to 
those  in  need;  how  to  draw  comfort  from  the  Scrip- 
tures in  the  hour  of  disappointment  or  sorrow.     The 

228 


very  informality  demanded  in  such  a  discussion  draws 
hearts  together,  and,  when  one  after  another  sees 
how  honestly  their  neighbors  are  striving  to  live  the 
Christ-life,  animosities  will  be  softened  and  petty 
quarrels  will  cease. 

The   Prayer-meeting    Should    Develop    and    Reveal 
Talent. 

No  minister  knows  of  half  the  power  lying  latent 
in  the  lives  of  his  people.  They  come  and  sit  silent 
during  the  preaching  of  the  Sunday  sermons  and  no 
sign  of  power  escapes  them.  And  yet  every  one  has 
power;  the  Church  should  be  getting  the  benefit  of 
it;  the  prayer-meeting  offers  the  opportunity  of 
drawing  it  out.  Perhaps  it  is  the  social  quality ;  the 
ability  to  meet  strangers  tactfully  and  make  them 
feel  at  home;  perhaps  it  is  quick  insight  into  situa- 
tions or  relations,  such  as  most  women  possess.  It 
will  be  most  valuable  when  you  are  applying  the 
Scripture  lesson  to  modem  life;  possibly  it  is  musi- 
cal talent.  Why  should  not  the  best  be  used  for  the 
glory  of  God  in  the  prayer-meeting?  Perhaps  it  is 
the  power  to  draw  other  souls  to  the  Master.  You 
need  this  most  of  all  in  this  informal  service.  A 
wise  pastor  will  call  out  these  powers  from  week  to 
week,  not  only  making  them  stronger,  but  giving  the 
Kingdom  the  benefit  of  them. 


229 


il3otalile  Cftaractetisi 


The  Prayer-meetmg  a  Soul-wmning  Service, 

Most  of  all,  as  the  spirit  of  evangelism  grows  in 
the  Church,  are  men  feeling  that  the  mid-week  service 
should  yield  many  lives  for  the  Master.  It  must  be 
so  conducted  that  our  children  and  unsaved  friends 
will  love  to  attend  it,  and  when  they  do,  they  should 
be  led  to  understand  His  claims  upon  their  lives  and 
given  an  opportunity  to  respond  to  them.  The 
doors  of  the  Church  of  Jesus  should  be  always  open 
so  that  when  some  wandering  child  comes  home  he 
may  find  no  obstacle  in  the  way  of  his  walking 
straight  into  his  Father's  arms. 

Most  pastors  are  quite  amazed  when  they  hear 
one  talk  of  the  prayer-meeting  as  a  place  for  soul- 
saving.  There  are  never  any  unsaved  people  in  their 
prayer-meetings!  Well,  why?  One  says:  "Prayer- 
meetings  are  for  the  building  up  of  the  saints."  So 
they  are,  but  is  the  company  of  the  saints  so  dis- 
agreeable that  no  unsaved  friends  will  ever  attend 
with  them  ^  The  heart  of  the  matter  is,  most  prayer- 
meetings  are  so  unattractive  to  the  unsaved,  and  to 
the  saved  for  the  matter  of  that,  that  they  rarely 
attend  them. 

The  meetings  conducted  by  our  great  city  Missions 
and  the  Salvation  Army,  night  after  night,  through- 
out the  year,  are  in  reality  prayer-meetings,  but  they 
have  so  much  of  human  interest  in  them  and  bear  so 
hard  upon  the  problems  men  and  women  are  com- 

230 


pelled  every  day  to  face,  that  thousands  attend  them 
who  are  not  yet  saved,  but  who  are  certain  to  be 
before  many  weeks  pass.  No  man  can  long  hear  the 
Gospel  story  persuasively  told  and  not  yield  to  it. 
"I,"  said  the  Saviour,  "if  /  be  lifted  up,  will  draw 
all  men  unto  me." 

A  Modern  Prayer-meeting  Conversion, 

It  was  in  a  prayer-meeting  in  Jerry  MacAuley 
Mission  in  New  York  that  the  Hadley  boys,  S.  H. 
and  H.  H.,  two  of  the  most  persistent  soul-winners 
America  has  ever  seen,  found  the  Saviour.  The 
story  of  the  latter's  experience  is  heart-gripping  and 
heart-cheering,  for  it  shows  what  can  be  achieved. 
It  has  been  told  by  Mr.  Hadley  himself  all  over  the 
country,  but  it  will  bear  a  thousand  repetitions.  He 
was  well  bom  and  raised  in  a  quiet  country  home  in 
Ohio,  but  contracted  the  habit  of  drink  while  in  the 
army.  The  habit  fastened  its  awful  fangs  into  him, 
and  he  could  not  shake  it  off.  He  went  into  busi- 
ness and  failed  because  of  drink.  He  started  to  prac- 
tice law,  but  failed  on  account  of  drink.  He  started 
a  newspaper  in  New  York,  but  was  failing  here  also 
on  account  of  drink.  Life  was  becoming  unendur- 
able. He  had  married  a  patient  and  devoted  wife, 
and  now  had  six  beautiful  children,  but  he  was  dis- 
gracing them  all  and  breaking  their  hearts.  One 
night  he  decided  he  would  end  it  all  by  plunging 
into  East  River. 

231 


Il3ata61e  Cfiatactet^ 


Something  held  him  back  till  he  should  see  his 
brother  again,  who  had  been  converted  and  was  then 
conducting  Water  Street  Mission.  Without  any 
thought  of  personal  release  he  entered  the  Mission 
and  sat  down  to  wait  till  the  meeting  should  be  over, 
and  he  could  have  a  last  talk  with  his  brother.  As 
the  service  progressed,  his  heart  was  stirred.  The 
songs  cheered  him;  the  prayers  seemed  to  take  hold 
on  God.  Finally  the  testimonies  began.  One  after 
another  told  how  the  Lord  had  saved  him.  A  Scotch 
printer  arose  and,  pointing  with  pride  to  his  well- 
dressed  wife  and  child,  told  how  he  had  abused  and 
neglected  them  till  they  were  compelled  to  leave  him, 
but  since  the  Lord  had  saved  him  from  the  curse  of 
liquor  they  had  come  back  and  now  theirs  was  the 
happiest  of  homes. 

"All  at  once,"  says  Mr.  Hadley,  "it  occurred  to 
me  that  possibly  I  might  be  saved,  too,  if  I  were  to 
stop  trying  to  do  it  all  myself,  and  follow  Jesus  and 
trust  Him.  And  I  determined  right  then  to  test  His 
power  and  love."  He  stood  up  and  told  the  condi- 
tion he  was  in,  then,  going  forward,  he  fell  down  on 
his  knees  and  prayed  to  God  for  mercy  and  forgive- 
ness. Gradually  the  sense  of  forgiveness  and  cleans- 
ing came  over  him.  He  clung  to  God  as  a  drowning 
child  would  to  his  earthly  father.  He  went  out  of 
the  meeting  a  saved  man,  and  from  that  day  forward 
was  free  from  the  awful  craving  for  liquor  that  for 
half  a  life-time  had  mastered  him.    With  a  zeal  rarely 

232 


witnessed,  he  gave  the  remainder  of  his  life  to  saving 
others,  and  it  was  in  prayer-meetings  most  of  his 
work  was  done. 

Let  the  precious  opportunity  of  the  mid-week 
service  be  rescued  from  its  present  place,  next  the 
grave.  European  Christianity  started  in  a  prayer- 
meeting,  and  it  may  be  vastly  furthered  by  laying 
the  emphasis  on  such  meetings  to-day.  Their  pos- 
sibilities are  infinite,  limited  only  by  the  willingness 
of  pastor  and  people  to  throw  themselves  into  them. 
Rightly  conducted  they  may  become  the  Church's 
chief  source  of  power  and  the  recruiting  ground  for 
countless  new  members. 


xvn. 

SAUL  OF  TARSUS;    BY  THE  DIRECT  INTER- 
VENTION OF  DIVINE  POWER. 

THE  forces  that  lead  human  hearts  to  the 
Saviour  are  found  to  be  almost  as  numerous 
as  men.  Rarely  are  two  lives  effected  by  ex- 
actly the  same  power  or  combination  of  circum- 
stances. Here  it  is  a  mother's  prayers;  there  a 
father's  admonitions  and  appeals.  In  one  case  it  is 
a  letter  from  a  distant  friend;  in  another  the  quiet, 
persistent  invitations  of  a  companion.  In  some 
cases  man  seems  the  larger  factor ;  in  others  the  "still 
small  voice"  that  will  not  cease  its  appeals.  The 
Spirit  seems  to  say,  as  St.  Paul  himself  did,  in  the 
early  days:  "All  things  to  all  men  if  by  all  means 
I  may  save  some." 

The  most  gratifying  of  all  facts  that  confront 
the  student  is  that  in  response  to  some  force  men  are 
coming  to  the  Saviour  every  day;  that  no  sun  sets 
without  having  shone  upon  the  conversion  of  many 
of  God's  children.  The  race  is  being  saved.  Not  so 
rapidly  as  we  could  wish,  but  as  rapidly  as  men  can 
be  brought  into  contact  with  Jesus ;  as  rapidly  as 
they  will  yield  their  hearts  to  Him.  If  you  are  not 
in  the  company  it  is  your  fault,  not  God's.    He  does 

234 


^aul  of  Cat0u$ 


not  wish  any  to  perish,  but  will  have  all  men  to  be 
saved. 

The  Master  Christian  Converted. 

In  the  study  before  us  we  are  to  consider  the  con- 
version of  the  master  Christian  of  the  ages,  the  man 
whose  coming  into  the  Kingdom  has  meant  more  to 
its  progress  than  the  coming  of  any  other;  the  Jew 
born  with  the  rights  of  Roman  citizenship,  Saul  of 
Tarsus.  That  we  may  spend  the  more  time  on  his 
later  life,  his  early  years  will  be  passed  by.  On  the 
threshold  of  his  young  manhood  he  found  himself  a 
leader.  His  education  had  been  the  best  his  day 
afforded.  To  sit  at  the  feet  of  Gamaliel  was  to  put 
the  crown  on  the  highest  education ;  it  was  like  a  post 
graduate  course  at  Yale  or  Princeton.  Added  to 
this  the  young  student  was  religiously  a  Pharisee. 
This  left  nothing  to  be  said  regarding  his  admiration 
of  the  Mosaic  law  or  his  allegiance  to  it.  As  he 
himself  said  of  the  Athenians  at  a  later  day,  he  was 
"more  than  others  respectful  of  things  divine."  There 
are  evidences  that  he  was  a  member  of  the  Sanhe- 
drin,  the  central  governing  body  of  the  Jewish  nation. 

Thus  it  will  be  seen  that  Saul  was  on  the  thres- 
hold of  a  great  career,  whether  in  the  Church  or  in 
the  Roman  state.  Providence  had  decreed  him  a 
leader;  it  only  required  a  few  years  of  experience  to 
give  him  the  power  and  presence  such  leadership  de- 
mands.    It  can  be  easily  imagined  that  the  young 


iQotable  Cl)atacter0 


leader's  friends  would  say  to  each  other:  "The  one 
thing  that  threatens  the  career  of  Saul  is  his  unrea- 
sonable and  curbless  hatred  of  the  new  sect  called 
Christians.  Such  violence  has  spoiled  many  a  prom- 
ising career  before,  and  he  may  not  hope  to  escape 
its  ravages.  Hatred  grows  by  what  it  feeds  upon. 
It  might  lead  him  to  murder  and  unpardonable 
crime." 

It  was  at  about  this  time  that  the  young  Pharisee 
had  an  experience  that  sobered  him.  The  young 
Church  of  the  Christians  had  grown  so  fast  new 
officers  were  necessary.  Among  those  appointed  was 
Stephen,  a  man  full  of  faith  and  good  works,  who 
strove  so  mightily  for  God  as  to  arouse  the  jealousy 
of  the  narrower  Jews,  and  who  was  so  powerful  in 
argument  for  the  claims  of  Jesus  as  to  leave  them  no 
foot  to  stand  on.  He  must  be  gotten  out  of  the  way, 
and  the  simplest  course,  in  view  of  his  impassioned 
zeal  for  the  Messiahship  of  Jesus,  was  to  charge 
him  with  blasphemy  and,  whether  proved  or  not, 
stone  him  to  death  without  the  city  wall.  The 
farcical  trial  was  hurried  through  and  the  devout 
Stephen  dragged  to  the  place  of  martyrdom.  That 
a  bloody  and  groundless  murder  was  about  to  be 
committed  no  one  familiar  with  the  facts  could  dis- 
pute. No  matter,  let  it  go  on.  These  up-start 
Christians  must  be  checked.  That  they  might  be 
the  more  free  to  perform  their  nefarious  work  the 
murderers  drew  off  their  loose  outer  garments  and 

^36 


%ml  of  Cat0U0 


threw  them  over  the  arm  of  Saul,  the  young  student 
from  Tarsus.  He  was  watching  the  procedure  with 
more  than  usual  interest.  His  hatred  of  all  Chris- 
tians made  him  a  willing  witness  of  Stephen's 
slaughter,  but  something  held  him  back  from  casting 
a  stone  at  him.  One  cannot  escape  the  conviction 
that  when  the  martyr's  face  shone  with  the  glory  of 
heaven's  own  light,  and  the  victory  of  dying  for  his 
Lord  wrote  itself  on  every  feature,  that  such  a 
student  of  human  nature  as  Saul  was  would  be 
moved.  For  the  moment  his  hatred  would  be  checked 
and  admiration  for  the  heroic  Christian  would  take 
its  place.  Did  Saul  get  his  first  glimpse  of  the 
Saviour  here.? 

If  he  did  he  seems  to  have  done  his  utmost  to 
throw  off  its  effects.  A  man  under  deep  conviction 
will  oftentimes  plunge  deeper  than  ever  into  sin. 
Saul  set  himself  to  exterminate  the  Christians.  Going 
boldly  to  the  high  priest,  he  obtained  authority  to 
seize,  bind,  scourge  and  imprison  any  of  them  he 
found,  whether  on  the  streets  or  in  their  own  homes. 
Like  an  instrument  of  death  he  went  from  house  to 
house,  hailing  innocent  women  and  children  and  cast- 
ing them  into  loathsome  dungeons.  Jerusalem  did 
not  satisfy  him.  He  must  go  through  other  cities 
likewise  until  no  vestige  of  the  hated  sect  should  be 
left  alive. 

One  stands  amazed  at  times  at  the  evil  God  per- 
mits in  the  world,  at  the  lengths  He  will  allow  evil 

237 


iQotafile  C{)aractet0 


men  to  go  before  lifting  His  hand  to  stop  them.  Was 
He  giving  Saul  an  opportunity  to  see  the  error  of  his 
way  that  he  might  turn  back  of  his  own  accord? 
Was  He  waiting  until  the  enormity  of  his  offence 
would  make  his  redemption  all  the  more  impressive? 
Truly  His  ways  are  past  finding  out. 

But  the  time  had  come.  This  monster  persecutor 
must  be  turned  into  the  master  Christian.  Nothing 
but  the  power  of  Christ  himself  would  be  sufficient. 
And  so,  at  a  moment  no  man  suspected,  when  Saul 
was  cursing  Him  and  vowing  double  vengeance  on 
all  who  followed  Him,  Christ  struck  the  blasphemer' 
to  the  ground  and  changed  his  heart.  Here  is  the 
most  astounding  event  since  the  tragedy  on  Calvary. 
If  Jesus  there  passed  from  life  unto  death,  here  Saul 
passed  from  death  unto  life.  The  man  who  rose  to 
his  feet  was  the  same  man,  as  to  his  physical  being, 
who  a  moment  ago  fell  under  the  blinding  light,  but 
all  else  was  changed.  A  new  soul,  a  new  heart,  a  new 
attitude  toward  the  Nazarene  and  toward  all  man- 
kind. "Lord,  what  wilt  Thou  have  me  to  do?"  Be- 
fore, a  persecutor;  now  a  protector.  Before,  a  re- 
viler;  now  a  devout  proclaimer.  Before,  determined 
to  stamp  out  the  new  sect ;  now  determined  to  plant 
it  in  every  city  that  all  men  might  benefit  by  its 
mighty  power. 

The  Effectual  Work  of  God. 

The  first  thought  that   detaches   itself  from  tKe 

S38 


Siaul  of  Cat0U0 


surging  mass  that  arises  in  contemplation  of  this 
world-significant  event  is  that  God  did  it.  No 
human  element  had  any  part  in  the  conversion  of 
Saul  of  Tarsus.  The  event  silenced  forever  the  ex 
machina  theory  of  deity.  He  does  at  times,  if  not 
at  all  times,  put  His  hand  upon  the  affairs  of  men 
and  turn  them  to  suit  His  measureless  purposes.  No 
man  is  beyond  His  power,  no  man  is  so  far  away 
from  Him  that  he  cannot  be  brought  back  in  an  in- 
stant of  time,  no  man  is  so  deep  down  in  sin  that 
he  cannot  be  transformed  and  changed  in  the  twink- 
ling of  an  eye.  Do  not  lose  sight  of  this  fact,  O 
doubting  men  of  the  world.  The  world  has  not  got 
beyond  the  control  of  its  Maker,  the  children  of 
men  beyond  the  reach  of  the  God  who  made  us  all. 
Some  day  He  may  speak  to  you  as  unto  Elijah  in 
the  hour  of  despair :  "What  doest  thou  here  ?  Arise, 
go  and  anoint  kings  and  appoint  successors  that  My 
work  may  not  cease."  It  may  be  as  unto  Abraham: 
*'Get  thee  out  of  thy  country  and  from  among  thy 
kindred  and  I  will  make  of  thee  a  great  nation." 

You  who  silence  the  inner  voice  and  crush  down 
conscience  and  refuse  to  listen  when  voices  cry  in 
language  the  soul  understands,  you  may  be  turning 
a  deaf  ear  to  God  who  is  speaking  to  you  after  His 
custom  in  our  day  as  surely  as  He  spake  to  Abra- 
ham and  Elijah  and  Saul.  If  the  Second  Person  of 
the  sacred  Trinity  spoke  to  Saul,  the  Third  may  be 
speaking  to  you  this  moment,  as  these  words  enter 

239 


iQotafile  Cf)aracter0 


your  consciousness :  "My  child,  my  child,  why  do  you 
persecute  me?  Why  refuse  the  life  I  offer?  Why 
dwell  in  darkness  and  misery  when  you  might  be 
dwelling  in  the  light  of  my  love,  with  a  sense  of  for- 
giveness and  pardon  flooding  your  soul?" 

Your  call  to  conversion  may  never  he  stronger  or 
louder  than  this.  If  you  refuse  to  respond  now, 
it  may  never  sound  in  your  ear  again.  It  is  not 
God's  general  plan  to  break  down  the  will  of  men. 
He  leaves  them  free  to  make  their  own  choice,  but, 
just  as  a  mother  leaves  her  beloved  son  free  to  make 
his  own  choice  of  a  life  work,  while  all  the  time  she 
prays  and  pleads  with  God  to  lead  him  into  the  min- 
istry, so  God  leaves  you  free  to  choose  your  own 
course  in  hfe,  but  longs  toward  you  with  greater 
love  than  that  of  a  mother,  hoping  daily  that  you  will 
turn  his  way. 

Once  Begun,  God*s  Work  is  Always  Completed. 

A  second  striking  thing  about  the  conversion  of 
Saul  is  the  completeness  of  it.  God  does  not  begin 
a  work  and  then  abandon  it  when  half  done.  With 
Him  to  begin  is  to  complete,  and  He  has  never  yet 
been  apprehended  in  a  poor  piece  of  work.  The 
change  in  Saul  was  absolute.  There  is  no  slipping 
back  into  old  habits  or  language,  as  in  the  case  of 
Peter;  no  longing  for  old  luxuries  as  in  the  case 
of  Israel.  If  ever  a  man  was  born  again  by  the 
power   of  the   Holy   Spirit,   Saul  was.      Hate   was 

240 


%)aul  of  Car0u$ 


taken  from  his  heart;  the  tenderest  and  most  con- 
siderate love  took  its  place.  His  proud  pharisaism 
departed  in  an  instant,  never  to  return.  What 
agony  of  soul  he  must  have  endured  for  his  part  in 
the  murder  of  the  innocent  Stephen !  What  remorse 
for  giving  his  vote  against  devout  followers  of  Jesus 
when  they  were  being  falsely  tried  by  the  Sanhedrin  ! 
These  wrongs  of  his  former  life  may  have  been  a 
factor  in  his  determination  to  spend  the  remainder 
of  his  life  and  all  his  powers  in  building  up  Chris- 
tianity and  relieving  the  distress  of  Christians. 

The  completeness  of  Saul's  conversion  is  not  with- 
out parallels  in  modern  days.  H.  H.  Hadley  says 
that  at  the  moment  of  his  conversion  in  the  old 
Water  Street  Mission  in  New  York,  God  not  only 
took  the  love  of  sin  out  of  his  heart,  but  he  took 
the  taste  for  liquor  out  of  his  mouth,  so  that  he 
could  never  again  bring  himself  to  taste  a  drop  of  it. 
He  caused  him  to  turn  with  loathing  from  his  former 
haunts  and  associations  and  made  him  love  the  pure, 
the  clean,  the  innocent. 

The  Glory  of  the  Second  Birth. 

In  his  heart-gripping  book,  "Twice-Born  Men," 
Mr.  Harold  Begbie  tells  us  of  a  hardened  criminal 
whom  he  calls  Joe.  Joe  was  born  in  the  slums  of 
London  and  showed  criminal  instincts  from  infancy. 
At  nine  he  was  flogged  and  imprisoned  for  theft, 
and  at  fourteen  was  sentenced  to  fifteen  months'  im- 

241 


jQotable  Ctjaracterisi 


prisonment  for  burglary.  He  was  the  terror  of  his 
neighborhood,  watched  constantly  by  the  police.  Out 
of  the  first  thirty-four  years  of  his  life  seventeen 
were  spent  in  prison. 

One  of  the  early  companions  of  this  criminal,  a 
prize-fighter,  was  suddenly  coverted  one  night  in 
the  Salvation  Army  barracks.  He  began  at  once  to 
work  for  others  and  centred  his  efforts  on  Joe.  But 
the  criminal  was  hardened  and  would  not  listen.  One 
evening  the  converted  fighter  took  the  unconverted 
criminal  to  his  home.  It  was  the  first  happy  home  he 
had  ever  entered.  From  that  night  on  Joe  prayed, 
but  it  was  not  a  prayer  for  personal  pardon.  It  was 
a  prayer  that  God  would  send  him  a  good  woman  for 
a  wife. 

Few  women  ever  realize  the  influence  they  might 
have  over  men's  lives  if  they  would  always  live  pure 
and  innocent,  true  and  unselfishly,  as  God  intended 
they  should.  When  the  average  man  marries  he 
looks  upon  his  wife  as  little,  if  any,  less  than  an 
angel.  Such  reverence  for  womankind  has  God 
planted  in  the  masculine  breast.  If  the  woman  shat- 
ter this  ideal  and  live  down  to  unforgivable  levels, 
the  man  who  hoped  to  be  saved  by  her  will  conclude 
there  is  nothing  good  in  the  world  and  will  fall  to 
depths  untouched  before,  and  have  small  desire  for 
recovery. 

This  criminal  prayed  God  for  a  good  woman  to 
save  him.     He  was  soon  in  prison  again,  and  every 


@aul  of  Car0U0 


night  for  the  months  of  his  term  he  sent  up  the 
same  fervent  prayer.  When  released  from  imprison- 
ment his  old  friend,  the  prize-fighter,  was  waiting 
for  him.  He  urged  him  to  go  straight  to  the  Salva- 
tion Army  meeting,  but  the  criminal  refused.  He 
went  instead  to  a  public  house.  Here  he  was  quickly 
in  trouble  and  went  out  to  settle  his  quarrel  with 
fists.  It  was  an  awful  fight.  Joe  nearly  killed  his 
opponent,  but  he  himself  had  his  head  broken  and 
his  face  cut  and  marred  beyond  recognition.  He 
went  straight  from  the  fight  to  a  surgeon,  and  had 
the  wounds  dressed;  and  straight  from  the  surgeon, 
his  head  swathed  in  bandages,  to  the  Salvation  Army 
barracks.  When  the  invitation  to  go  forward  was 
given  he  was  the  first  to  respond.  Loving  workers 
prayed  for  him  and  he  prayed  for  himself,  this  time 
for  pardon  and  peace.  He  remained  at  the  bench 
for  hours,  but  when  he  rose  to  his  feet  again  he  felt 
that  he  was  a  saved  man. 

Naturally  everybody  doubted  the  genuineness  of 
his  conversion.  How  could  a  life-long  criminal  be 
regenerated  in  a  moment?  Every  watcher  said  he 
would  probably  fall  again,  and  even  his  faithful 
friend,  the  prize-fighter,  thought  he  should  have 
another  dip.  But  he  did  not  fall.  He  testified  that 
when  God  saved  him  that  night,  he  took  away  his 
desire  to  steal  and  gave  him  strength  to  withstand 
the  temptations  that  immediately  crowded  upon  him. 
Before,  he  despised  work  and  had  never  earned  a 

^4S 


iQotafile  Cl)aractet0 


dollar  by  honest  toil.  Now  he  took  the  humblest 
task  and  did  it  gladly,  feeling  that  at  last  he  had 
gotten  started  right  in  life.  While,  of  course,  he 
had  not  the  education  or  the  experience  to  undertake 
large  Christian  work,  his  conversion  was  as  complete 
as  St.  Paul's.  "Neither  is  His  arm  shortened  that 
He  cannot  save."  The  God  that  completely  re- 
generated Saul  of  Tarsus  and  Joe,  the  life-long 
criminal,  of  the  London  slums,  can  as  completely  re- 
generate any  sinner  of  the  twentieth  century.  Do 
not  imagine  your  case  is  too  hard.  God  loves  hard 
tasks  and  never  fails  in  them. 

In  an  interesting  foot-note  the  author  of  Joe's 
story  tells  us  that  the  prayer  of  his  prison  days 
was  soon  answered.  One  day  he  was  painting  a 
buggy  wheel  and  suddenly  looking  up  through  the 
spokes,  he  saw  the  smiling  face  of  a  young  woman. 
He  felt  instantly  that  his  prayer  was  at  last  an- 
swered. Cultivating  the  young  woman's  acquain- 
tance, he  told  her  his  story  and  that  he  was  sure  God 
had  sent  her  to  him  in  answer  to  his  prayer.  He 
begged  her  to  marry  him.  It  had  been  a  short  time 
since  his  conversion  and  she  was  afraid,  but  said  at 
last  if  he  would  join  the  Salvation  Army,  and  come 
out  openly  into  the  Christian  life,  she  would  take 
the  chance.  Joe  met  the  conditions  at  once,  and 
they  were  soon  married.  He  secured  a  good  posi- 
tion. Children  came  into  their  home,  and  in  all  Lon- 
don none  are  happier  or  more  grateful  to  God.    The 


%)aul  of  Car0U0 


deep  student  is  right :  "One  power  and  one  alone  can 
make  the  habitual  criminal  a  good  man  in  the  loftiest 
and  only  lasting  sense  of  that  term,  and  that  power 
is  religion." 

Will  God  Regenerate  on  Request? 

Out  of  all  this  testimony  there  arises  another  ques- 
tion which  bears  directly  upon  the  men  of  the  twen- 
tieth century:  Will  God  work  as  freely  and  as 
completely  in  regenerations  that  are  asked  for,  as 
He  does  in  those  entered  upon  on  His  own  initiative  ? 
The  answer  must  be  a  positive  and  triumphant  Yes. 
The  witness  of  the  ages  may  be  our  answer.  Ninety- 
nine  per  cent,  of  the  conversions  in  the  lives  of  men 
come  when  men  ask  for  them.  If  God  has  never 
regenerated  you  on  His  own  initiative,  you  may  rest 
assured  He  is  eager  to  render  you  this  infinite  service. 
But  it  is  not  the  plan  of  God  to  break  down  a  man's 
will  and  force  him  into  the  Kingdom.  He  waits  for 
men  to  decide  for  themselves  that  they  want  to  come. 
If  you  are  tired  of  sin ;  if  the  lees  of  life  are  bitter ; 
if  you  long  to  be  free  from  a  guilty  conscience  and 
have  a  sense  of  duty  performed  to  men  and  God, 
seek  the  Father's  pardon;  confess  that  you  have 
sinned  and  pray  to  have  those  sins  forgiven,  and  the 
stain  of  them  washed  away.  God  will  not  fail  you 
and  His  work  will  be  complete. 

You  need  not  wait  for  the  intervention  of  some 
human  factor;  you  may  go  straight  to  God  your- 


il3ota&le  Cl)atactet0 


self.  He  will  listen  to  you  as  quickly  as  He  will  to 
any  man  for  you.  There  is  no  favored  class  with 
Him;  every  man  is  on  speaking  terms  with  God.  Go 
to  Him  frankly,  make  an  honest  confession  of  all 
past  sins;  ask  to  have  them  forgiven  and  forgotten. 
Tell  Him  you  want  to  live  right;  that  you  want  to 
quit  sinning  and  live  the  white  life;  that  you  are 
going  to  make  an  honest  effort,  and  you  want  His 
help.  He  will  not  fail  you ;  all  the  goodness  of  God 
will  flow  out  toward  you  and  you  will  have  your 
desire. 


MS 


A  WORKING  CHURCH  AN  EFFECTIVE 
PROJECTILE. 


XVIII. 

A  WORKING  CHURCH  AN  EFFECTIVE  PROJECTILE. 

IN  our  boyhood  days,  when  we  were  preparing 
the  old  single-barrel  muzzle-loading  shotgun  for 
deadly  execution,  everything,  we  were  told,  de- 
pended on  the  load  and  the  way  it  was  put  in.  The 
weapon  had  two  leading  characteristics :  One  was  the 
recoil,  better  known  to  youngsters  as  the  "kick," 
which,  memory  says,  varied  from  the  velocity  and 
killing  power  of  an  angry  mule's  heels  to  those  of 
exploding  dynamite.  The  other  was  its  disposition 
to  scatter  the  shot  so  widely  that  a  quail  or  rabbit 
of  any  agility  could  safely  slip  through  the  charge 
in  half  a  dozen  places  with  nothing  worse  than  the 
loss  of  a  few  feathers  or  a  trifling  bunch  of  fur. 

The  skill  of  the  hunter  showed  itself  in  loading  the 
gun.  There  must  be  just  so  much  powder;  you 
could  measure  it  to  the  grain  in  the  hollow  of  your 
trembling  hand.  There  must  be  just  such  a  wad;  no 
more  and  no  less.  These  were  to  be  driven  home 
until  so  hard  that  the  steel  ramrod,  striking  the 
charge,  would  bound  clear  out  of  the  barrel.  In- 
comprehensible as  it  was,  the  way  the  powder  was 
put  in  and  "rammed  down"  had  more  to  do  with 

249 


a  iKaotWng  Cimth 


subsequent  scattering  or  not  scattering  than  the 
measure  or  the  placing  of  the  shot.  The  latter  was 
secondary;  a  good  round  handful,  with  the  wad  just 
well  down  on  the  load  and  you  were  ready  to  adjust 
the  cap. 

Oh !  the  eagerness  !  If  the  game  had  been  generous 
enough  to  sit  quietly  by,  waiting  its  own  obsequies, 
while  this  turmoil  was  going  on,  your  hands  shook 
with  anxiety  till  you  could  hardly  get  the  cap  in 
place.  All  else  was  like  a  dream;  rest  the  heavy 
weapon  on  the  stake-and-rider  fence  nearby;  pull 
the  gun  tight  against  your  shoulder  to  minimize  the 
damage  to  your  own  anatomy,  point  the  muzzle 
somewhere  in  the  direction  of  the  game,  shut  your 
eyes,  and  FIRE ! 

If,  for  any  reason,  the  agility  of  the  game  failed 
it  at  the  critical  moment,  there  it  lay,  when  the 
smoke  cleared  away  and  you  had  recovered  from  the 
awful  jolt  of  the  recoil,  waiting  to  be  added  to  your 
hunting  bag,  already  beginning  to  bulge  as  a  result 
of  your  newly  acquired  skill  in  loading  the  gun. 

As  I  look  back  from  middle  life  at  this  youthful 
exploit,  in  connection  with  bringing  this  work  to  a 
close,  I  see  a  strange  analogy.  The  Church  too  is  a 
kind  of  weapon  and  unsaved  men  rightful  quarry. 
The  work  a  church  does  is  the  charge  that  wins  or 
fails  to  win  these  men;  and  the  way  that  work  is 
done  corresponds  to  the  loading  of  the  old  shotgun. 
When  the  gun  was  well  loaded  and  the  shot  brought 

250 


an  etfectftoe  89to/ectfte 


down  the  game,  there  was  ever  an  approving  smile 
from  father,  and  when  the  Church  so  does  her  work 
as  to  be  effectual,  when  she  builds  character  and 
wins  large  numbers  to  the  Christ-life,  she  has  upon 
her  evermore  the  blessing  of  the  Father  of  us  all. 

Efficiency  the  Modern  Need, 

Efficiency  has  come  to  be  the  master  word  in  the 
business  world.  Nothing  will  take  the  place  of  it. 
Men  may  be  handsome  and  well  dressed,  and  suave 
and  chivalrous,  but  if  they  do  not  get  their  work 
done  before  the  sun  sets,  the  active  world  has  no 
place  for  them.  No  more  stimulating  word  was  ever 
uttered  or  one  more  worthy  of  constant  repetition 
than  that  of  William  Allen  White  when  he  said  in 
his  excellent  article  on  General  Funston :  "The  world 
wants  results;  not  good  and  sufficient  reasons  why 
results  are  not  forthcoming." 

Thousands  of  fine  fellows  are  failing  in  the  min- 
istry because  they  let  a  good  excuse  for  not  doing 
a  piece  of  work  stand  in  the  place  of  doing  it.  "I 
intended  to  make  a  strong  sermon  for  Sunday,  but 
so  many  calls  for  pastoral  work  came  in  I  could  not 
get  to  it."  "I  intended  to  call  every  day  last  week, 
but  my  wife's  cousin  came  to  visit  us  and  I  did  not 
get  out  a  single  day."  "I  had  made  all  arrange- 
ments to  call  on  the  sick  last  Tuesday  afternoon,  but 
a  bad  headache  came  on  and  I  had  to  give  it  up." 
And  so  it  goes,  year  after  year,  good  excuses  satis- 

261 


a  MJotbing  Cfiutcf) 


fying  men  when  the  only  thing  that  should  satisfy 
them  is  getting  their  work  done  and  gathering  large 
and  rich  harvests  to  the  Master's  cause. 

Efficiency  must  become  the  master  word  of  the  min- 
istry and  of  the  Church,  as  well  as  of  the  business 
world.  We  need  results  worse  than  business  enter- 
prises do.  Every  worthy  man  must  relentlessly  put 
to  himself  the  questions :  "Am  I  making  good  ?  Am 
I  making  full  proof  of  my  ministry  ?  Am  I  fulfilling 
the  desires  and  the  plans  of  Christ  for  my  life?" 
The  men  who  die  from  over-work  are  not  one  in  a 
thousand  to  those  who  die  from  over-resting,  from 
over-eating,  from  over-sleeping,  from  over-yielding 
to  every  little  hindrance  that  comes  up  to  keep  them 
from  getting  fruitful  work  done. 

Work  That  Demands  Admiration. 

Gentlemen,  we  must  disprove  the  charge  that  of 
all  professions  the  ministry  is  the  most  inefficient. 
It  is  absolutely  unpardonable  that  the  charge  should 
ever  have  been  made.  Every  stroke  of  work  we  do 
honestly  will  contribute  to  our  efficiency.  If  we  read 
good  books  and  have  large  experiences  that  we  may 
prepare  powerful  sermons,  we  cannot  escape  the  bene- 
ficial effects  of  reading  the  books  and  doing  the 
work;  if  we  extend  sympathy  and  love  and  care  to 
the  afflicted  and  the  needy,  and  do  it  unselfishly, 
that  is,  without  seeking  to  be  glorified  and  lauded 


an  (Bfttttiu  ptofectfle 


for  it,  the  results  will  show  in  stronger  and  richer 
character. 

The  vein  of  the  world's  pity  for  inefficient  religious 
workers  has  pinched  out.  The  man  who  sniffles  and 
whines  about  his  work  being  very  hard  and  the  people 
unresponsive,  arouses  only  contempt.  When  the 
business  world  finds  hard  conditions  it  overcomes 
them  and  is  stronger  for  the  eff^ort.  The  ministry 
will  have  to  learn  to  do  the  same.  Ask  no  man  for 
pity.  Do  a  class  of  work  that  will  command  every 
man's  admiration  and  the  world  will  gladly  give  you 
a  place  and  a  name. 

Examples  from  Nature  and  Society, 

As  I  write  this  word,  high  on  the  side  of  the 
Rocky  Mountains,  a  tiny  red  ant  is  struggling  past 
me  with  a  load  three  times  its  size.  I  judge  the  load 
to  be  a  bit  of  straw  it  is  carrying  to  a  home  so  dis- 
tant that  I  cannot  locate  it.  Other  ants  of  the  same 
family  are  all  around,  but  the  determined  worker  is 
not  stopping  to  ask  any  of  them  for  a  lift.  Stones 
and  weeds  block  the  way  continually,  yet  I  venture  to 
say  that  if  some  sympathetic  one  should  force  help 
on  this  tiny  hero  there  would  be  a  fight.  He  does 
not  want  pity  or  help.  He  is  straining  every  muscle 
to  do  this  work  alone.  Perhaps  there  is  a  king  or 
queen  somewhere  whose  approval  he  craves.  I  can 
just  see  him  now  as  he  disappears  over  the  crest  ten 
feet  away.     He  is  working  as  though  under  a  time 

^53 


9  SiQatktng  Cf)utc{)' 


limit.  In  the  half  hour  I  have  been  writing  and 
watching,  he  has  not  stopped  an  instant  to  rest,  nor 
loosened  his  hold  on  his  heavy  load.  I  cannot  hold 
my  pen  back  from  writing  here  the  scriptural  in- 
junction: "Go  to  the  ant  .  .  .  consider  her 
ways  and  be  wise." 

At  the  foot  of  the  clifF  on  which  I  write  nestles 
a  busy  city.  In  the  railroad  yards  the  switch  en- 
gines are  steaming  here  and  there  shunting  cars  on 
side-tracks  and  making  up  trains ;  in  a  new  addition 
to  the  city  a  large  force  of  men  is  at  work  cutting 
and  filling  new-laid  streets.  When  rocks  interfere 
they  blast  them  out  and  use  the  fragments  for  filling 
the  valleys;  the  campus  of  a  great  university  is 
visible.  On  two  new  buildings  swift  workmen  are 
making  marvellous  progress  while  the  broad  walk  is 
thronged  with  students  hurrying  to  library  or  class- 
room; on  the  streets  of  the  city  pedestrians  and 
vehicles  are  hurrying  this  way  and  that,  all  bent  on 
the  accomplishment  of  some  necessary  task.  The 
lesson  from  it  all  is:  The  great  world  is  getting  its 
work  done  and  everybody  is  doing  a  lion's  share. 

Do  Important  Things  i/n  Private  or  in  Public, 

Unfortunately  the  very  work  of  the  ministry  sug- 
gests seclusion.  What  a  man  does  when  he  shuts  the 
door  of  his  study  on  a  work  day  morning,  only  he 
and  God  know  at  the  moment,  but  his  people  know 
the  next  Sunday,  and  his  little  world  knows  in  a 

254 


an  (Effectrte  projectile 


few  months  or  years.  Idleness  or  dawdling  over 
magazines  and  novels  is  enormously  expensive.  Mil- 
lionaires can  hardly  afford  it,  and  yet  many  a  min- 
ister who  is  whining  about  the  low  salary  he  is  re- 
ceiving does.  Even  in  the  ministry  a  man  can  coin 
time  into  money  if  he  has  the  energy,  and  the  gov- 
ernment will  not  prosecute  him  for  counterfeiting! 

It  is  no  longer  enough  to  be  simply  working  at 
something;  we  must  be  working  at  the  thing  that 
means  most  to  our  cause  at  the  moment.  Work  for 
its  own  sake  has  a  value,  but  work  for  the  accom- 
plishment of  some  definite  purpose  has  an  infinitely 
higher  value.  I  once  knew  a  man  who  spent  three 
whole  days  painting  some  card-board  signs  to  be 
used  at  the  church  picnic  when  a  painter  would  have 
done  the  work  for  a  quarter  and  have  done  it  in- 
finitely better.  Yet  that  man  was  greatly  offended 
when  a  bold  member  suggested  that  they  would  wel- 
come a  little  better  sermons  and  urged  me  to  help 
him  get  a  new  field,  for  these  heartless  people  were 
working  him  to  death ! 

A  man  must  choose  even  between  tasks  that  are 
worthy.  It  will  be  impossible  to  do  them  all.  Which 
ones  are  the  most  important  .f*  Which  ones  will  con- 
tribute most  to  the  great  object  you  have  taken 
vows  to  accomplish?  Settle  this  in  advance,  early 
in  the  week  or  in  the  day,  and  then  get  the  work 
done,  no  matter  what  arises  to  interfere. 


UB 


a  motkins  Cliurcii 


Onl^  Focused  Rays  Burn. 

To  return  to  the  figure  of  our  title,  we  must  make 
our  church  one  solid  force  and  send  it  irresistibly 
toward  the  mark  it  is  our  business  to  reach,  the 
redemption  of  our  communities,  and,  ultimately,  of 
the  whole  world.  Nothing  less  will  satisfy  the  Mas- 
ter; nothing  less  should  satisfy  us.  The  scattering 
of  modern  Church  work  is  the  jest  of  the  business 
world  and  ought  to  be  the  distress  of  every  Christian 
worker.  How  can  we  turn  all  our  streams  into  one 
channel.'^  How  can  we  focus  all  our  rays  until  they 
burn  ? 

It  can  never  be  done  in  the  local  church  until  the 
head  is  efficient  and  indomitable.  Then  it  cannot  be 
done  until  the  people  are  willing  to  recognize  this 
man's  power  and  position  and  let  him  lead.  Let 
him  lay  his  plans  large  and  fair ;  let  him  so  manage 
the  various  parts  of  the  church's  work  that  they 
will  converge  toward  his  high  purpose ;  let  him  prove 
the  rightness  and  value  of  his  plans  by  the  abundant 
fruitage  his  perfect  machine  gathers ;  by  the  straight- 
ness  with  which  his  projectile  goes  to  the  eye  of  the 
target;  by  the  regularity  with  which  the  quarry  is 
taken.  Success  is  the  argument  with  which  to  silence 
complaint  and  opposition.  "Try  my  plan  for  re- 
ceiving Benevolent  Offerings  once,"  said  a  man  sure 
of  his  methods  to  an  objecting  Church  officer:  "if 
it  does  not  prove  its  value  I  will  never  urge  it  again." 

256 


an  (BUtttiu  Ig^tpjectile 


When  the  new  plan  brought  in  twice  the  money  with 
half  the  effort  of  the  old  plans,  the  critic  was  si- 
lenced. Probably  better  plans  for  doing  Church  work 
than  have  yet  been  tried  will  soon  be  discovered,  but 
until  they  are,  work  the  plans  we  have  that  have 
proved  themselves  valuable  and  work  them  with  an 
enthusiasm  hitherto  unknown. 

To  those  who  have  had  the  patience  to  follow  this 
work  through,  it  is  now  clear  that  it  is  a  loud  call 
to  the  ministry  and  to  the  Church  to  gird  loins 
anew  and  reenter  the  fight  for  the  conquest  of  the 
world  for  God  with  a  determination  to  win  no  power 
on  earth  can  check.  We  have  the  greatest  work  in 
the  world;  its  returns  for  time  and  eternity  are  im- 
measurable; it  makes  giants  of  the  men  and  women 
who  do  it  honestly  and  unselfishly  and  thus  the  world 
is  doubly  enriched ;  it  compels  the  admiration  of  man  ; 
it  wins  the  approval  of  God ;  it  is  the  only  work  that 
will  win  a  wandering  race  back  to  its  Father.  Gen- 
tlemen, with  coats  off,  sleeves  rolled  high,  muscles 
tense,  let  us  do  an  honest  life's  work  for  God. 


«67 


Date  Due 


£L12 


Mifli^inyyfiWBg 


m  r 


